News 09:00

BULLETIN 20 January 9 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# An education activist says Solidarity and AfriForum have the right to challenge the BELA Act
# Acsa is trying to secure an uninterrupted availability of jet fuel at the OR Tambo Airport
# And rugby: Andy van der Watt, one of the fastest wings ever to play for the Springboks, has died

# Education activist, Hendrick Makaneta, says Solidarity and AfriForum are well within their rights to challenge the Basic Education Laws Amendment Act. The groups have instituted legal proceedings, arguing that the Act violates previous agreements, and disregards critical recommendations by Basic Education minister Siviwe Gwarube, particularly on language and admissions policies. Makaneta says this is going to be an interesting test case as the constitutionality of the policies will be under scrutiny:

# The Bench-Marks Foundation, a non-governmental organisation, says the lack of formalisation of artisanal mining exacerbated the Stilfontein tragedy in the North West. This is after more than 80 bodies of illegal miners were retrieved from the disused Buffelsfontein Gold Mine, and over one-thousand have surfaced from a shaft at the mine since November last year. The foundation says creating a legal framework for small-scale miners would not only improve safety standards but also provide economic opportunities for communities affected by high unemployment.

# Airports Company South Africa says it has secured enough supply for OR Tambo International Airport for this month and is collaborating to mitigate any disruption during February. This follows the fire at the National Petroleum Refiners of South Africa refinery earlier this month, which is impacting fuel production nationally. Acsa says the airport has 27.1 million litres of jet fuel currently available, which is about 7.6 days of stock on hand. It adds that it has requested Transnet to prioritise the movement of fuel stock from Durban to Gauteng once imported volumes arrive.

# Israel says it has released 90 Palestinian prisoners as part of the ceasefire deal with Hamas. This comes after three Israeli hostages were released on Sunday, the first of 33 to be released by Hamas and its allies over the next six weeks. Most of the prisoners have been freed from the Ofer prison in Ramallah. Israeli government spokesperson, David Mencer, says the current ceasefire is temporary, and they have the right to return to fighting if they deem it necessary:

# Rugby: Andy van der Watt, celebrated as the fastest wing to play for the Springboks, died in his home in KwaZulu-Natal on Sunday. The 78-year-old suffered from emphysema. Van der Watt was part of the Springboks 1969-1970 UK demo tour, playing in 17 of the 24 games, including Tests against Scotland, England and Ireland. He also went on South Africa’s trip to Australia in 1971. Van der Watt also played provincial rugby for Western Province, Border and Natal. He retired from the game at just 28-years-old in 1975.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-69-cents and the euro at 19-rand-26-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-81-cents and Bitcoin trades at 101-thousand-737-dollars-XX-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-703-dollars-13-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 79-dollars-79-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….