News 12:00

BULLETIN 2 October 12 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The UN is concerned by the widening hostilities in the Middle East
# Nersa recommends the approval of four new electricity trading licences
# And cricket: A former player backs Brendon McCullum to revive England’s white-ball teams

# The United Nations’ Human Rights Council is concerned with the widening hostilities in the Middle East and their potential to engulf the entire region. Iran launched a missile attack on Israel yesterday evening, in response to the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. The attack came hours after Israel announced it launched a limited and localised ground operation in Lebanon. UN Human Rights spokesperson, Liz Throssell, says all parties must clearly distinguish between military targets and civilians:

Back home:

# Energy regulator Nersa’s electricity subcommittee has recommended approving four new electricity trading licences, dismissing Eskom’s objections raised in July. GreenCo Power Services, Discovery Green, Green Electron Market, and CBI Electric Apollo are set to receive national trading licences, pending final approval. Eskom argued that allowing multiple licensees in the same area could disrupt infrastructure. However, Nersa clarified that trading licences do not face the same limitations as distribution licences.

# The City of Cape Town has kicked off Transport Month with a panel discussion around the Mother City’s congestion conundrum. The metro’s comprehensive integrated transport plan for 2024 shows 89-percent of commuter trips in Cape Town are road-based. Mayoral committee member for Urban Mobility, Rob Quintas, says this is unsustainable and unaffordable to both the metro’s administration and residents:

# Cricket: Former English played Dawid Malan believes Brendon McCullum is the right man to get the country’s white ball team back to winning ways. The New Zealander will become head coach of all three formats from January after doing very well with the Test team. Malan says McCullum must fund the right balance between youth and experience to get the white ball teams back on track. He says England has the players to rebuild and become one of the best teams in the shorter formats again.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-36-cents and the euro at 19-rand-24-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-9-cents and Bitcoin trades at 61-thousand-650-dollars-71-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-650-dollars-67-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 74-dollars-96-cents a barrel.

# And finally: Paris’s authorities began to gradually reduce the speed limit on the French capital’s congested ring road in a move they say will improve safety and quality of life. According to the capital’s Socialist mayor, Anne Hidalgo, the speed limit along the entire 35-kilometre Boulevard Peripherique will decrease from 70- to 50-kilometres per hour from today. The signage for the new speed limit is expected to be fully installed by 10 October. The beltway is one of France’s busiest thoroughfares, used by around 1.2-million drivers every day.

Stay tuned for more news………….