News 13:00

BULLETIN 28 January 1 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Four more South African soldiers die as M23 rebels overrun Goma
# Donald Trump signs an executive order to rid the military of “transgender ideology”
# And Tennis: Joao Fonseca wants to become the world number one after a brilliant 2024

# The South African National Defence Force says four more South African soldiers have died in the Democratic Republic of Congo, bringing the total to 13 during intense fighting with M23 rebels. The soldiers are trapped in Goma and Sake and unable to access medical aid or supplies. Defence Force spokesperson Siphiwe Dlamini says a video showing troops raising a white flag was confirmed as part of a failed truce, not a surrender.

Meanwhile, the GOOD Party says the Defence Force cannot continue to operate in combat in the DRC without sufficient military resources, with ammunition running out and little to no air support. GOOD’s Brett Herron says what was supposed to be a noble peacekeeping effort now threatens to become part of a full-scale regional war:

# US president Donald Trump has signed an executive order ridding the military of what he calls transgender ideology, in a potentially major setback for LGBTQ rights. In a series of orders related to the military he also called for the building of a US version of Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system. Trump signed further orders reinstating service members dismissed for refusing to take the Covid-19 vaccine, and extending a wider government crackdown on diversity programmes to the armed forces.

# Tennis: Brazilian teenager Joao Fonceca became the youngest men’s player since Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz to crack the top 100. The 18-year-old improved from 651th to 99th in the world rankings last year. He won the Next Gen ATP Finals last month, and participated in his first Grand Slam tournament in Australia this month. Fonseco beat ninth-seeded Russian Andrey Rublev in the first round in Melbourne before losing to Italian Lorenzo Sonego in the second. He says he wants to become world number one.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-74-cents and the euro at 19-rand-56-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-34-cents and Bitcoin trades at 102-thousand-611-dollars. Gold sells at two-thousand-744-dollars-6-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 76-dollars-45-cents a barrel.

# And finally: The Arctic’s last ice area, a vital habitat for ice-dependent species, could disappear much sooner than previously thought. A new study by McGill University researchers estimates that the last ice area could disappear within a decade. This follows after the central Arctic Ocean becomes ice-free in summer, which is expected to occur sometime around mid-century. Lead author of the study, Madeleine Fol, says these findings underscore the urgency of reducing global warming to ensure stable projections for critical Arctic habitats.

Stay tuned for more news………….