News 09:00

BULLETIN 3 January 9 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Parliament’s rebuilding construction is set to commence in the first quarter of this year
# South Africa welcomes 1703 New Year’s babies
# And, South Africa sends condolences to Japan after the deadly earthquakes

# Parliament says the rebuilding construction of buildings affected by the fire in 2022 is set to commence in the first quarter of this year and should be completed at the end of next year. Yesterday marked two years since a fire ravaged the National Assembly building, including its chamber and hundreds of offices. Parliament’s spokesperson, Moloto Mothapo says every South African will be afforded the opportunity to voice their opinions and contribute to the decision-making process regarding the design and functionality of their Parliament:

# The minister of Health, Joe Phaahla has congratulated the mothers of one-thousand-703 babies born on New Year’s Day in public health facilities across the country. Phaahla urged fathers and family members to support mothers because it takes a village to raise a child. The department’s spokesperson, Foster Mohale, says the first bundles of joy were born exactly at midnight at the Philadelphia Hospital and Seshego Hospital in Limpopo, Mowbray Maternity Hospital in Western Cape and Mafikeng Provincial Hospital in North West respectively:

The minister added teen pregnancy is a societal problem in South Africa which requires all hands on deck to because some teenage mothers are likely to face critical social issues like poverty and poor education outcomes. Spokesperson Mohale says the country has recorded at least 190 teenage mothers on New Year`s Day and 145 on Christmas Day. The youngest mothers are 14-year-olds from KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape:

# South Africa has offered its deepest condolences to Japan after a series of deadly earthquakes on the country’s west coast on New Year’s morning. The 7.6 magnitude earthquake has led to extensive loss of life and rising numbers of severe injuries in the aftermath of the earthquake. The Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Naledi Pandor, says South Africa’s prayers are with the people of Japan, particularly those who have lost loved ones. She also commended the tireless and continued efforts of the rescue and emergency personnel.

# Cricket: Pakistan lost four wickets in the opening session in Sydney with Australia well on top in their hunt for a series clean sweep. At lunch, the tourists were 75 for four with Pat Cummins who took two wickets for 16 runs from five overs. It was a rousing morning session for the Australians, who are looking to send out 37-year-old opening batsman David Warner as a winner in his 112th and final test match in his home city. Australia over Christmas clinched the three-match series in the second test in Melbourne.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-56-cents and the euro at 20-rand-35-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-46-cents and Bitcoin trades at 45-thousand-274-dollars-81-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-63-dollars-86-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 75-dollars-77-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….