News 12:00

BULLETIN 23 December 12 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Fedhasa notes a boost to the hospitality industry
# The Save South Africa Civic Movement is concerned about Johannesburg’s water crisis
# And cricket: Root makes his ODI return while Stokes will miss England’s tour to India and the Champions Trophy

# Hospitality association Fedhasa has noted a boost to the hospitality industry as the festive season is in full swing and many are taking the opportunity to visit holiday destinations. National chairperson Rosemary Anderson highlights improvements in Gauteng, Mpumalanga and Cape Town where there has been a significant uptick in bookings and tourism activity. She told SABC the other provinces have not yet fully recovered to pre-Covid-19 levels:

Meanwhile, Tourism minister Patricia De Lille has expressed concern over soaring Cape Town holiday prices. The metro is known as a luxury destination for many holidaymakers, with accommodation now reportedly costing up to 55-thousand-rand for five nights. De Lille told eNCA the prices have become out of reach for most South Africans:

# The Save South Africa Civic Movement says the inadequate response by Johannesburg Water to the water crisis in the metro is concerning. Over the past few months, Gauteng has been grappling with an ongoing water crisis. Rand Water’s recent maintenance left many communities without water for 86-hours. The movement’s Lumkile Moshesh says what is allegedly happening at Johannesburg Water, more especially regarding the awarding of long and short term contracts to deliver water tankers, leaves many unanswered questions.

# New York police have arrested a suspect accused of killing a female subway passenger by setting her on fire yesterday morning. Police commissioner Jessica Tisch describes the incident as one of the most depraved crimes one person could commit against another human being. She says the suspect and the victim were both riding the F train to the end of the line at Stillwell Avenue in Brooklyn when the incident happened:

# Cricket: Joe Root has been recalled to England’s one-day squad for the tour of India and the International Cricket Council’s Champions Trophy in Pakistan. However, Ben Stokes has been ruled out through injury. Root has not played for the white-ball side since the World Cup in November last year. Mark Wood is included in the squad following his recovery from a right elbow injury. The tour to India in January and February includes five T20s and three ODIs before the Champions Trophy in February and March.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-32-cents and the euro at 19-rand-8-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-2-cents and Bitcoin trades at 95-thousand-358-dollars. Gold sells at two-thousand-629-dollars-73-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 72-dollars-80-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….