News 11:00

BULLETIN 21 January 11 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Dricus du Plessis is South Africa’s new UFC middleweight champion of the world
# Two people have been found dead after a Johannesburg CBD fire
# And, more than half-a-million full-time Grade 12 learners were social grant beneficiaries

# We start with excellent mixed martial arts news: South Africa has its first Ultimate Fighter champion. Dricus du Plessis beat defending champion, American Sean Strickland, to win the middleweight UFC world title this morning. The opponents didn’t stop throwing punches until the final horn in a true slugfest in Toronto, Canada. After the fight, Du Plessis’ left eye was nearly swollen shut and Strickland had blood dripping down his face. In the end, the judges decided Du Plessis earned the split decision victory. It was his first title fight in the UFC and the Pretoria fighter remains undefeated since October 2020:

# Back home: Two people have been found dead and four were transported to health care facilities following a fire in a building in the Johannesburg CBD. The city’s Emergency Management Services were called out to the residential building on the corner of Commissioner and Nugget Street this morning. EMS spokesperson Nana Radebe-Kgiba says two bodies have been found so far, as search and rescue operations continue:

And in China, a fire broke out in dormitories at a boarding school for elementary learners in the central Henan province, killing 13 children. All of the dead were third grade learners. China’s state media reports the school’s owner is being detained. One person rescued from the scene is being treated in hospital. A Xinhua news report says the school had metal grilles covering the windows, as is common in buildings in China. Sixteen children were safely evacuated.

# Minister of Social Development Lindiwe Zulu has congratulated all the Grade 12 learners receiving social development services who passed the 2023 National Senior Certificate. Of the 897-thousand-775 learners who wrote the exam, 543-thousand-786 were social grant beneficiaries. The department’s spokesperson, Lumka Oliphant, says 62 of them are among the top performing learners in different categories:

Meanwhile, Parliament’s portfolio committee on Higher Education, Science and Innovation is gravely concerned about the National Student Financial Aid Scheme outstanding allowances crisis from the 2023 academic year. This includes the disbursement of outstanding allowances to students, finalisation of appeals and the accreditation of private accommodation. The committee remains concerned that the inability to pay these outstanding allowances could have a ripple effect on student registration for this academic year. It urges the scheme to address the issues with urgency.

Stay tuned for more news………….