News 11:00

BULLETIN 18 January 11 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Minister Ntshavheni warns about an increase in cyberattacks
# A security guard shoots three people including a child in Pretoria
# And the UN says the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine is getting worse

# Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni is warning that South Africa is seeing an increasing occurrence of cybercrime incidents and cyberattacks. These attacks affect all sectors of the economy including telecommunications, finance, and health. In a parliamentary question, Police minister Senzo Mchunu revealed that two-thousand-679 cybercrime cases were reported over two years, but only 83 of them were referred to the National Prosecuting Authority. Ntshavheni says in the past year, the most prevalent threat has been ransomware attacks in both the private and the public sector.

# ActionSA says with six members it is punching far above its weight in Parliament. The party’s Athol Trollip says since the start of the seventh Parliament, they have submitted the same number of questions as the official opposition, which has over 50 members. Trollip says by carefully dividing each of its six members of Parliament’s time across a minimum of three committees, it continues to achieve the broadest possible exposure to every critical discussion and decision impacting South Africans:

# A protest takes place outside the Pretoria Regional Magistrate’s Court today, where a security guard is set to appear after allegedly shooting two adults and a six-year-old child outside Eastwood tavern. Police say soccer fans arrived at the parking lot in two cars after attending a match at Loftus Versfeld. Spokesperson, Mavela Masondo, says an armed security official approached them and requested they turn down the music. A scuffle ensued and the guard allegedly fired several shots, wounding the three people.

# The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says civilians in Ukraine are bearing the brunt of escalating Russian attacks, with casualties rising sharply. In November alone, 65 civilians were killed, and 372 were injured across eleven regions, double the casualties from the previous month. The UN’s Lisa Doughten says daily attacks continue, inflicting death, injury, and untold suffering on ordinary Ukrainians, and destruction and damage to civilian infrastructure:

# Rugby: Italian United Rugby Championship franchise Zebre Parma could be replaced by a new club next season, with local media reporting the struggling outfit could know their fate this week. It is believed Zebre’s future will be decided at a meeting today, with their closing coming by June. The Italian Rugby Union council is reported to be exploring options for a new privately funded franchise, similar to Benetton’s independent model. The council is expected to approve criteria for an investor to acquire the Parma license.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-5-cents and the euro at 18-rand-98-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-94-cents and Bitcoin trades at 103-thousand-761-dollars-3-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-645-dollars-12-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 73-dollars-18-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….