News 09:00

BULLETIN 8 January 9 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Minister Motsoaledi warns that more pandemics are likely in the future
# The DA believes illegal miners are destructive to the mining industry
# And pope Francis appoints a nun to head up the Vatican’s governance reform

# Minister of Health Aaron Motsoaledi has warned that more pandemics are likely in the future, as climate change and the encroachment of habitats of other species by humans continues. The country is monitoring the human metapneumovirus outbreak in China, a respiratory illness that presents symptoms similar to Covid-19. Motsoaledi says discussions on what will be done in case of an outbreak in South Africa are ongoing, with the help of the country’s former director-general of Health Precious Matsoso. She currently co-chairs the World Health Assembly’s intergovernmental negotiating body sitting in Switzerland.

# The DA believes that illegal miners are destructive to the industry and surrounding communities, as they drive away investment and steal state revenues. This as illegal miners have been trapped underground at the Buffelsfontein mine in North West since November last year. The DA’s, James Lorimer, says the snag seems to be that to conduct an exit operation for the zama zamas, the specialist rescue effort would have to be funded and officially approved:

# Police minister Senzo Mchunu has welcomed the arrest and court appearance of the final suspect in the Lusikisiki mass shooting, which claimed 18 lives. Twenty-year-old Songezo Vuma was arrested on a bus in King William’s Town which was heading to Cape Town on Sunday. He is facing 18 charges of murder, along with possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition charges. Police ministry’s spokesperson, Kamogelo Mogotsi, says a total of eight people have been arrested in connection with the massacre:

# Pope Francis has appointed Sister Simona Brambilla to lead a Vatican department, naming the first woman head of the office that oversees the world’s Catholic religious orders and congregations. Francis, who has sought to reform the Catholic Church’s governance, named nun Brambilla as Prefect of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life in a historic first. The 59-year-old Brambilla is a former nurse with missionary experience in Mozambique who was previously the dicastery’s deputy. Dicastries are the Vatican term for ministries or departments.

# Soccer: Newcastle took control of their Carabao Cup semifinal with a convincing two-nil first-leg win against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium. Goals from Alexander Isak and Anthony Gordon secured the visitor’s first win away to Arsenal since November 2010. Newcastle will need to avoid defeat or lose by a one-goal margin, in the second leg at St James’ Park on the fifth of next month to book a place in the final. Newcastle manager Eddie Howe says the tie is still very finely balanced:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-71-cents and the euro at 19-rand-37-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-35-cents and Bitcoin trades at 96-thousand-275-dollars. Gold sells at two-thousand-647-dollars-22-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 77-dollars-11-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….