News 12:00

BULLETIN 10 December 12 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Government urges spaza shop owners to register before the deadline or face the consequences
# Cricket: The Proteas and Pakistan face off in the first T20 in Durban this evening
# And Mohammad and Olivia were the most popular names English and Welsh parents gave their newborns in 2023

# Government is urging all spaza shop owners and food-handling facilities to register their businesses in municipalities where they operate before Friday’s deadline. This comes after the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs declared a national disaster following an increase in food-borne illnesses linked to spaza shops. Over 20 children have died. Government spokesperson, Sithembile Mazaleni, says if spaza shop owners don’t register in time, they will face the consequences of operating illegally:

# The Border Management Authority says a South African taxi driver was arrested at the Beitbridge port of entry in Musina, Limpopo, while attempting to smuggle 25 undocumented foreign nationals into the country. Among them were 20 children between the ages of five and 14, being unlawfully transported under dangerous and inhumane conditions. The BMA’s acting commissioner, Jane Thupana, says the driver has been charged and is in police custody:

# The Cape Town Public Emergency Communication Centre has handled two-thousand-and-25 incidents over the weekend. The centre says the 25-percent rise was driven by noise complaints and medical emergencies. Noise complaints surged to 307 from 215 the previous weekend, alongside 511 medical cases, 138 assaults, and 81 vehicle-related incidents. Cape Town Traffic Services also arrested 30 motorists and processed over 37-thousand offences. Authorities have urge residents to celebrate responsibly.

 # Cricket: South Africa and Pakistan will face off in the first of three T20s in Durban this evening. Heinrich Klaasen will captain the Proteas in the absence of Aiden Markram, who are getting rested together with Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada and Tristan Stubbs, who played in the just concluded Test series against Sri Lanka. The second match will be played in Centurion on Friday and the final one in Johannesburg the next day. This will be followed by three one-day matches and two Tests.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-86-cents and the euro at 18-rand-83-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-79-cents and Bitcoin trades at 97-thousand-23-dollars. Gold sells at two-thousand-662-dollars-49-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 71-dollars-88-cents a barrel.

# And finally: Mohammad and Olivia were the most popular names English and Welsh parents gave their newborns last year. Mohammad dethroned Noah, who was number one in 2022, while Olivia stuck to her first place. Britain’s Office for National Statistics says an estimated four-thousand-661 babies were named Mohammad in 2023, followed by Noah, Oliver, George, Leo, Arthur, Luca, Theodore, Oscar and Henry. Amelia was the second-most popular name among girls, followed by Isla, Lily, Freya, Ava, Ivy, Florence, Willow and Isabella.

Stay tuned for more news………….