News 13:00
BULLETIN 20 November 1 pm
Good afternoon. I am……..
In this bulletin:
# The DA says there is no need for an extraordinary Johannesburg council sitting
# Medics evacuate 31 premature babies from a Gaza hospital
# And Cricket: Keshav Maharaj tops the O-D-I bowler standings after the World Cup
# The DA in Johannesburg has noted with grave concern the extraordinary council sitting called by the city manager to elect a new council speaker at the expense of residents and ratepayers. The party will not be complicit in such a waste of money and will therefore not be attending the meeting. The DA’s Belinda Kayser-Echeozonjoku says the party’s position remains clear, the Johannesburg council must be dissolved and they will not give legitimacy to the coalition while they are being frivolous with taxpayers’ money:
Meanwhile, the South African Local Government Association Council of Speakers Forum is convening a two-day event to address the myriad challenges confronting municipalities. This event is timely as the City of Johannesburg prepares to elect its new speaker following the recent removal of Colleen Makhubele. SALGA chief of Operations, Lance Joel, says the forum, scheduled from tomorrow to Wednesday, will concentrate on strategies to bring stability to municipalities. He says the discussions aim to provide insights and solutions for enhancing effective governance in local government bodies:
# Palestinian medics successfully evacuated 31 premature babies from Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza in a high-risk operation. World Health Organization chief director, Tedros Ghebreyesus says the transfer was executed using six Palestinian Red Crescent Society ambulances, navigating intense security conditions. The babies were transported to a neonatal intensive care unit at Rafay hospital. Meanwhile, the Director General of Hospitals in Gaza, Mohammed Zaqut, informed AFP that preparations are in progress for the infants to be transferred to Egypt for urgent medical interventions
# Cricket: Proteas spinner Keshav Maharaj tops the one-day international bowling rankings. He is followed by Wanindu Hasaranga of Sri Lanka and Adil Rashid of England. India is the number one ODI team in the world despite losing to Australia in the World Cup final yesterday. Australia is second and South Africa third. India’s Shubman Gill is the number one ODI batter and Proteas opener and wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock is third. He retired from the international game after South Africa was ousted by Australia in the World Cup semifinal.
# Financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-35-cents and the euro at 20-rand-7-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-92-cents and Bitcoin trades at 37-thousand-167-dollars-47-cents. Gold sells at one-thousand-978-dollars-92-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 81-dollars-24-cents a barrel.
# And finally: The Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds has launched its festive season adoption programme for African penguins. Penguin enthusiasts are urged to adopt and name an African penguin and in return, they get a newly launched festive-theme certificate. The organisation says by adopting this festive season, a person enables intervention to make the recovery and release journey of this incredible species possible. It adds that it is also a meaningful way for animal lovers to contribute to the conservation of African penguins.
Stay tuned for more news………….