News 09:00

BULLETIN 25 March 9 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The government says South Africa stands at a critical intersection in its environmental journey
# A fire has gutted the historic Botha Sigcau Building in Mthatha
# And, Meta has been found liable in a child exploitation case in New Mexico

# Deputy minister for Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Narend Singh, says South Africa stands at a critical intersection in its environmental journey. He says the country is blessed with unrivalled biodiversity, a vast coastline, and rich forestry resources. Yet, it is grappling with the urgent realities of climate change, addressing poverty, inequality and unemployment, and the necessity of ensuring that the natural wealth benefits everyone. Singh says the country’s success in protecting this rich natural heritage can only be measured by strengthened livelihoods, restored ecosystems, and strong environmental governance.

# Minister of Energy and Electricity, Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, says his department, working jointly with Eskom, has developed a structured Load Reduction Elimination Programme. Addressing the National Assembly yesterday, Ramokgopa said load reduction is not a generation shortfall, but a localised network protection measure triggered by sustained overloading at the distribution level. He stated that more than 380-thousand smart meters have been installed nationally, with over 199-thousand consumers being removed from load reduction schedules:

# A fire has gutted the historical Botha Sigcau Building in Mthatha in the Eastern Cape. Preliminary information indicated the fire started on one of the upper floors yesterday evening before spreading rapidly. The multi-storey building houses more than eleven government departments, including health, education, agriculture, and rural development. King Sabata Dalindyebo Local Municipality mayor, Goodman Nelani, told the SABC that this disaster will destabilise service delivery to communities:

# A court in New Mexico has ordered Meta to pay around 6.3-billion-rand in civil penalties, after being found liable for failing to protect kids from sexual exploitation. The lawsuit was brought by New Mexico attorney general Raúl Torrez’s office in December 2023, accusing Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, of violating the state’s Unfair Trade Practices Act. Jurors found that Meta had misled consumers about the safety of its platforms, enabling sexual exploitation of young users. Meta says it will appeal the ruling.

# Soccer: Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah has announced he will leave the club at the end of the season, ending a remarkable nine-year chapter. The 33-year-old Egypt international’s new two-year contract, which he signed last April, will be cut short by a year. Salah, who joined Liverpool from Roma in June 2017, will leave as the club’s third-highest goalscorer, and has also won the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup and Carabao Cup. Salah says Liverpool will always be home:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-93-cents and the euro at 19-rand-65-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-69-cents, and Bitcoin trades at 70-thousand-790-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-573-dollars-95-cents a fine ounce, and Brent crude oil is quoted at 95-dollars-74-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….