News 12:00

BULLETIN 16 March 12 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Border Management Authority suspends operation at two ports of entry due to flooding
# Clicks corn puffs are recalled over listeria contamination
# And motorsport: The Qatar MotoGP race is rescheduled due to the Middle East conflict

# The Border Management Authority has temporarily suspended operations at the Pafuri and the Giriyondo border posts between South Africa and Mozambique, due to flooding. Pafuri is situated in the far northern region of the Kruger National Park, while Giriyondo is an important part of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park, spanning South Africa, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. Spokesperson Mmemme Mogotsi says no injuries or damage to infrastructure were reported:

Meanwhile, the Limpopo Department of Education has temporarily suspended schooling in several districts severely affected by persistent heavy rainfall and the risk of flash floods. The Vhembe and Mopani districts remain the hardest hit, with many roads rendered impassable, effectively cutting off access to numerous schools. Spokesperson Mike Maringa says the Capricorn South and Waterberg districts have also reported incidents and structural concerns, which may further disrupt schooling:

# The National Consumer Commission has announced a recall of Clicks’ Made for Tots Corn Puffs Chicken 12-gram. This follows after Clicks Retailers reported a batch tested positive for non-pathogenic listeria. About one-thousand-152 units were affected, with 348 sold to consumers and 804 removed from shelves. Spokesperson Phetho Ntaba says the affected products were distributed to Clicks Stores in South Africa and Clicks Online, and were also distributed to Lesotho:

Moving abroad:

# The World Health Organisation is increasing emergency funding to countries affected by the Middle Eastern conflict, releasing 33.65-million-rand to support health responses in Lebanon, Iraq and Syria. In Lebanon, there have been 27 attacks on healthcare this month, resulting in at least 30 deaths. In Iraq, health services are facing increasing pressure, particularly hospitals located near strike zones. Over 104-thousand-300 displaced people have crossed from Syria to Lebanon. The WHO says the funds will help strengthen emergency coordination, trauma care and disease surveillance, and ensure access to essential medicines.

Meanwhile, MotoGP has confirmed that the Qatar Grand Prix, originally scheduled for April, has been postponed to 8 November, due to the ongoing geopolitical situation in the Middle East. As a result, the Portuguese Grand Prix will now be held on 22 November, with the season finale in Valencia moved to 29 November. MotoGP CEO, Carmelo Ezpeleta, says the decision was taken with the primary objective of ensuring the safety, well-being, and highest‑quality delivery of the event for all participants and attendees.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-86-cents and the euro at 19-rand-28-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-34-cents and Bitcoin trades at 73-thousand-493-dollars. Gold sells at five-thousand-and-one-dollar-52-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 102-dollars-52-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….