News 13:00
BULLETIN 4 January 1 pm
Good afternoon. I am……..
In this bulletin:
# Home Affairs services are temporarily unavailable
# An alliance advocates for fair wages and rights for the informal sector
# And, cricket: Newlands pitch under spotlight after historic 23-wicket day at New Year’s Test
# The Department of Home Affairs has declared the unavailability of its services due to a technical issue affecting the State Information Technology Agency mainframe. This disruption impacts access to the National Population Register. The department’s spokesperson, Siya Khoza, assured the public that further updates will be provided as efforts are made to address and resolve the technical problem:
# The South African Rainbow Alliance advocates for the protection of service industry workers, with a focus on cashiers, guards, waiters, receptionists, and cleaners. SARA says it aims to address the concerns of marginalised employees. The party demands fair wages, immediate untaxed tips for waiters, and comprehensive benefits for informal and service industry workers. SARA’s presidential candidate, Colleen Makhubele, also calls for compulsory safe transportation for after-hours workers, and training to ensure courteous and friendly service. She urges essential regulations and policies to safeguard workers’ rights amid industry mistreatments.
# The City of Cape Town says since the beginning of December, seven people drowned at beaches in the city, with one person missing at sea, presumed drowned. Mayoral committee member for Community Services and Health, Patricia van der Ross says it’s unfortunate that all of these tragic incidents happened at beaches that are not designated swimming areas, or outside of lifeguard duty hours:
# Cricket: History books were re-written on the first day of the second Test between South Africa and India where both sides completed their first innings, with a record 23 wickets taken. Questions will inevitably be asked of the quality of the pitch prepared by head groundsman Braam Mong. The whims of pitch preparation often lead to surprises. But the nature of the Newlands surface that saw both teams bat on the first day will invariably raise eyebrows, especially at one of South Africa’s premier Test grounds.
# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-63-cents and the euro at 20-rand-41-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-68-cents and Bitcoin trades at 42-thousand-896-dollars-26-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-and-46-dollars-55-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 79-dollars-11-cents a barrel.
# And finally: Well-known former SABC Afrikaans radio and television broadcaster, Edwill van Aarde, died last night at the age of 85. He passed away in a hospital in Krugersdorp after a long illness. During his career, he broadcast more than 500 cricket and 130 rugby matches, as well as 12 Comrades Marathons and five Wimbledon men’s finals. He was also known as the presenter of the Afrikaans TV quiz show Flinkdink. He is survived by his wife Piena, his children, Antoinette and Cobus , six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Stay tuned for more news………….