News 12:00

BULLETIN 14 May 12 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The N1 between Worcester and Paarl is reopened in both directions
# President Cyril Ramaphosa makes two senior NPA appointments to bolster the fight against crime
# And rugby: Minister Gayton McKenzie wants South Africa to host the World Cup again

# The Western Cape government says the N1 in the Cape Winelands was reopened after storm disruptions, facilitating one direction at a time, while heavy delays are expected. Spokesperson Regan Thaw says roads agency SANRAL has worked tirelessly to reopen the route between Worcester and Paarl, with traffic controls and a stop-and-go system in operation at the Rawsonville weighbridge. He says there may also be deviations at places, and calls for patience:

Meanwhile, the City of Cape Town’s electricity teams have attended to more than six-thousand service requests since Monday. Over 10-thousand-800 service requests were received about storm damage to electrical infrastructure. Mayoral committee member for Energy, Xanthea Limberg, says with the storm over, teams remain on the ground attending to outages and carrying out critical electricity repairs:

# President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed two deputy national directors of Public Prosecutions. Advocate Chuma Mtengwane has been appointed at the Asset Forfeiture Unit, while advocate Nicolette Astraid Bell is the new deputy for National Prosecutions Services. Ramaphosa says these appointments are part of ensuring that the National Prosecuting Authority remains effective in the fight against crime and enjoys public trust.

Moving abroad:

# The United Nations’ Children’s Fund, UNICEF, says at least 59 children have reportedly been killed or injured in Lebanon in the past week. The ceasefire announced last month has failed to stop the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. Lebanon’s Public Health Emergency Operations Centre says at least 33 people, including women and children, were killed in Israeli attacks in southern and central Lebanon yesterday. UNICEF warns more than 770-thousand children in Lebanon are facing a growing psychological crisis due to repeated risks of violence, displacement, and harm.

# Rugby: Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture, Gayton McKenzie, says he will not rest until South Africa hosts the World Cup again. The country last hosted the tournament in 1995, when the Springboks famously lifted the trophy at their first attempt. SA Rugby has launched several unsuccessful bids since. Australia will host the 2027 World Cup, with the USA staging the 2031 edition. McKenzie says he is seeking sponsorship and government support for a possible bid in 2035.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-40-cents and the euro at 19-rand-21-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-17-cents and Bitcoin trades at 79-thousand-826-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-700-dollars-35-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 104-dollars-2-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….