News 13:00

BULLETIN 21 January 1 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Minister Creecy urges all learner transport operators to adhere to the National Road Safety Strategy
# Rugby: Forty-two players are participating in the Junior Springbok training camp in Stellenbosch
# And a cow astonishes scientists with its rare use of tools

# Transport minister Barbara Creecy says the lack of law enforcement operations has brought the country’s learner transport service to its knees. This follows the Vanderbijlpark accident in Gauteng involving a learner transport vehicle and a truck, which claimed the lives of 12 children. Creecy has instructed traffic law enforcement agencies to intensify operations with a specific focus on learner transport, including overloading, roadworthiness and speeding. She has also urged all spheres of government dealing with learner transport to adhere to the recently reviewed National Road Safety Strategy.

# Union federation SAFTU has welcomed Employment and Labour minister Nomakhosazana Meth’s withdrawal of the long-standing variation notice of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act. The withdrawal restores the full enforceability of Section 34A, which obligates employers to pay over amounts deducted from workers’ wages for pension, provident, medical aid, or other benefit funds. SAFTU’s Asive Dyani says this decision empowers labour inspectors to act decisively against employers:

Moving abroad:

# United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has condemned the demolition of the UNRWA headquarters in East Jerusalem, Israel. The demolition follows a law that banned the activities of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees. Israel has longstanding issues with UNRWA, accusing it of aiding Hamas and calling for it to be dismantled entirely. Spokesperson Farhan Haq says UN premises are inviolable and immune from any form of interference:

# Rugby: A 42-man Junior Springbok training squad assembles in Stellenbosch in the Western Cape today, marking a major step in the SA Under-20s’ campaign for this year. The squad is a mix of regulars and exciting talent graduating from the Under-18’s and 13 players who toured France and Ireland towards the end of last year with the Under-19s. Junior Bok coach Kevin Foote says it’s important that they get the foundation of the culture and the environment right for the young players to excel.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-34-cents and the euro at 19-rand-13-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-94-cents and Bitcoin trades at 89-thousand-247-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-861-dollars-10-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 63-dollars-60-cents a barrel.

# And finally: Scientists are rethinking what cattle are capable of after an Austrian cow named Veronika was found to use tools with impressive skill. The discovery, reported by researchers in Vienna, suggests cows may have far greater cognitive abilities than previously assumed. Veronika, living in a mountain village in the countryside, has spent years perfecting the art of scratching herself using sticks, rakes, and brooms. Word of her behaviour eventually reached animal intelligence specialists in Vienna, who found Veronika used both ends of the same object for different tasks.

Stay tuned for more news………….