News 11:00

BULLETIN 22 January 11 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Vanderbijlpark learmer transport accident death toll has risen to 14
# Steenhuisen appoints the Industry Coordination Council to strengthen the foot and mouth disease response
# And multiple people are missing after a landslide at a campsite in Mount Maunganui, New Zealand

# The death toll from Monday’s learner transport accident in Vanderbijlpark, Gauteng, has risen to 14 after two more learners died in hospital in the early hours of this morning. The driver of the vehicle, which collided with a truck, is set to appear in court today. Police spokesperson Mavela Masondo says investigations are continuing:

Meanwhile, Parliament’s standing committee on Appropriations says the whole learner transport system is not well regulated and often underfunded, resulting in independent providers taking advantage. Chairperson Mmusi Maimane says learner transport needs to be safe, dependable, and properly regulated:

# Minister of Agriculture John Steenhuisen has formally appointed the Foot and Mouth Disease Industry Coordination Council to support the implementation of South Africa’s national strategy to contain and control the disease. The Northern Cape is the only province that has not been affected by the outbreak, which has also spread to two of the country’s largest feedlots. Steenhuisen says the council will ensure the industry plays an active, coordinated role in supporting the phased rollout of the FMD strategy, including vaccine distribution, traceability and disease control readiness.

Moving abroad:

# Several people are missing after a huge landslide struck a campground in the tourist hotspot of Mount Maunganui on New Zealand’s east coast. Heavy rain has wreaked havoc in much of the North Island, with some parts having received at least a month’s worth of rain in 12-hours. Fire and Emergency New Zealand commander, William Pike, says rescuers and sniffer dogs are desperately searching through the rubble:

# Tennis: Ten-time champion Novak Djokovic is through to the Australian Open’s third round. The Serb, who is bidding for a record 25th Grand Slam title, defeated Italian Francesco Maestrelli. Another Italian, Lorenzo Musetti, beat countryman Lorenzo Sonego to match his career-best result at the season’s first major. American Ben Shelton and Russian Karen Khachanov are also through to the third round. In the women’s draw, defending champion Madison Keys ousted fellow American Ashlyn Krueger in the second round.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-25-cents and the euro at 19-rand. One British pound costs 21-rand-83-cents and Bitcoin trades at 90-thousand-91-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-828-dollars-97-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 64-dollars-51-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….