News 12:00

NEWSFLASH NEWS AGENCY 13 October 12 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Prasa introduces the nationwide TravelOffPeak campaign
# The Education Department calls on NGOs to help with the prevention of learner suicides 
# And Cricket: England’s managing director is taking the blame for the World Cup failure 

# The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa has introduced the TravelOffPeak campaign, an initiative aimed at promoting ridership during off-peak hours by providing attractive fare discounts to commuters. Starting today Prasa is offering various off-peak discounts across all its operational routes. Prasa’s spokesperson, Andiswa Makanda, says this is a significant step towards enhancing the commuter experience and saving money by paying lower fares:

Play sound: ENG AndiswaonTravelOffPeak

# The Gauteng Education Department has called on non-governmental organisation and other entities to help with the prevention of learner suicides. The department has seen a spike in learner suicides with the latest being a Grade six pupil, who took his own life after allegedly being bullied at the Khehlekile Primary School in the east rand. Speaking to eNCA, educational psychologist, Fred Schouwink says the increase in learner suicide is a major concern:

Play sound: ENG-SchouwinkOnSuicide

# Africa Unite is calling for the protection and integration of foreign nationals in South Africa following the fatal shooting of two Somali nationals in Philippi, Cape Town last week. The organisation’s Lelethu Nogwavu says they condemned the targeting of foreign nationals, particularly small business owners. Africa Unite has also expressed concern about government’s proposal to audit foreign-owned spaza shops. This is after several incidents of children dying from consuming food items allegedly bought from street vendors and spaza shops. Nogwavu says if this is specifically targeting foreign nationals, it breeds xenophobia.

# Cricket: England’s managing director Rob Key says he should be blamed more than anyone else for the team massively underperforming at the World Cup in India. The defending champions failed to reach the semifinals after ending with six defeats in their first seven games. England came into the tournament among the favourites, but they were bottom of the table until wins over the Netherlands and Pakistan lifted them to seventh. Keys admits he prioritised Test matches over the 50-over format:

Play sound: ENG KeysOnTestPriority

# Financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-68-cents and the euro at 19-rand-97-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-86-cents and Bitcoin trades at 36-thousand-997-dollars-8-cents. Gold sells at one-thousand-937-dollars-23-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 80-dollars-64-cents a barrel.

# And finally: French president Emmanuel Macron has committed to spending over 20-billion-rand on polar research between now and 2030, amidst concern over the world’s melting ice caps and glaciers. According to reports, the plight of the Earth’s polar regions and glaciers has sparked alarm among many scientists, as heatwaves at both poles look set to be a regular occurrence. Experts have warned that half the world’s 200-thousand glaciers are set to disappear by the end of the century. Macron says this is a present and accelerating threat that needs urgent attention.

Stay tuned for more news………….