News 12:00

BULLETIN 21 January 12 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Eskom is focused on delivering one-year without load-shedding in March
# Tshwane commits to safe food practices, especially at schools
# And tennis: Paula Badosa and Alexander Zverev are through to the Australian Open semifinals

# At midnight, South Africa reached 300 consecutive days without load-shedding, with Eskom attributing this to the implementation of the Generation Recovery Plan. The power utility says this milestone has been characterised by a significant reduction in unplanned outages, an improvement in the energy availability factor of approximately seven-percent, and savings in diesel expenditure of 16.42-billion-rand. Eskom’s spokesperson, Daphne Mokwena, says the focus is on delivering one year without load-shedding at midnight on March 26:

# The City of Tshwane says it is committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of learners and communities this academic year. The metro’s spokesperson, Lindela Mashigo, says in neighbourhoods such as Soshanguve, Mamelodi, Olievenhoutbosch, Bronkhorstspruit, Hammanskraal and Atteridgeville, the sale of unsafe food is a persistent challenge. He says spaza shops, which often serve as the primary source of affordable food for many families, have become targets for criminal networks that sell unsafe food:

# France says Europe risks being dominated, crushed and marginalised if they do nothing to counter the policies of new US president Donald Trump. French prime minister Francois Bayrou says the United States has decided on a politic viewpoint which is incredibly dominating, pointing to the incoming administration’s policies on the dollar, industry and investment. French president Emmanuel Macron had even before Trump’s election for a second term emphasised the importance of Europe gaining a strategic autonomy by limiting its dependence on the United States, particularly in defence.

# Tennis: Former world number two Paula Badosa is through to her first career Grand Slam semifinal after defeating world number three Coco Gauff in the Australian Open quarterfinals. The Spaniard, who had a career-threatening back injury, beat the American, 7-5, 6-4, her first-ever top-ten victory at a major. In the men’s draw, Germany’s Alexander Zverev battled past American Tommy Paul in four sets to make his third semifinal in Melbourne. Badosa says making the semifinals is an amazing personal achievement:

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-65-cents and the euro at 19-rand-33-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-87-cents and Bitcoin trades at 102-thousand-206-dollars. Gold sells at two-thousand-726-dollars-40-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 78-dollars-98-cents a barrel.

# And finally: The United Nations Environment Programme says the fast fashion industry is the second-biggest consumer of water and is responsible for about ten-percent of global carbon emissions. The term refers to cheaply produced and priced garments, which copy the latest catwalk styles. The UN says the industry dries up water sources and pollutes rivers and streams, while 85-percent of all textiles go to dumps each year. According to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, emissions from textile manufacturing alone are projected to skyrocket by 60-percent by 2030.

Stay tuned for more news………….