News 13:00

BULLETIN 18 January 1 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Litigation over signature requirements for unrepresented parties is a concern for the IEC 
# Firefighters are battling a fire on Paarl Mountain
# And cricket: The Proteas Women are on their way to Australia

# The Independent Electoral Commission says the signature requirements to contest this year’s elections remain a bone of contention. This comes as think-tank The Rivonia Circle and Build One South Africa are challenging in court the equalisation of signature requirements for new political parties or those that are not in the provincial legislatures and the National Assembly. IEC CEO, Sy Mamabolo, says while the matter is in court, they will keep its platform open for unrepresented political parties to submit their signatures:

# Firefighters in the Cape Winelands District Municipality in the Western Cape are currently battling a fire on Paarl Mountain in Paarl. This comes after fire crews battled fires above Kalk Bay and in Franschhoek yesterday, which have now been fully contained. The municipality’s spokesperson, Jo-Anne Otto, says the fire on Paarl Mountain is burning out of control:

# Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition Ebrahim Patel met with Qatar’s minister of State for International Cooperation, Lolwah bint Rashid Al Khater, on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Al Khater praised South Africa’s efforts towards the Palestinian issue, especially its pioneering of international positions towards the war in the Gaza Strip. During the meeting, the ministers discussed cooperation relations between the two countries, in addition to several topics of mutual interest.

# Cricket: The Proteas women’s team are on their way to Australia for a historic multi-format tour. The tour will consist of three T20s, three One-Day Internationals and one Test in Perth. The first group departed yesterday and the second group are flying out today. South Africa will play a warm-up game on Wednesday with the T20 series starting in Canberra on the 27th of this month. Laura Wolvaardt, who will captain the Proteas, says they are excited about the tour:

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-95-cents and the euro at 20-rand-64-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-4-cents and Bitcoin trades at 42-thousand-756-dollars-22-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-12-dollars-and-6-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 78-dollars-22-cents a barrel.

# And finally: The Freedom Front Plus in Tshwane says it is time for a multisectoral approach by government, communities and educational institutions, to curb the complex problem of teenage pregnancies. Last year, four-thousand-444 teenage pregnancies were reported at public healthcare facilities in the metro alone. The national figure for 2022/23 stands at 88-thousand-122. The party’s Rina Marx says they will cooperate with the Department of Health, civil society and non-governmental organisations, to raise more awareness about teenage health and the dangers associated with teenage pregnancies.

Stay tuned for more news………….