News 13:00

BULLETIN 26 January 1 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The South African National Christian Forum says the ANC’s failed policy implementation is costing lives
# At least 11 people have died in a winter storm that swept across the US
# And American football: The Seattle Seahawks are to face the Patriots in the Super Bowl

# The South African National Christian Forum says the ANC’s governance has been marked by significant challenges in the implementation of policies. Forum leader Marothi Mashashane says this is particularly regarding the equitable provision of education, leading to severe consequences for learners in rural areas. He says persistent issues, including poor school infrastructure, lack of proper sanitation, and inadequate scholar transport, have placed learners in danger:

Meanwhile, Education activist Hendrick Makaneta is calling on government and the Transport and Roads Department to act speedily to restore safety and accountability in learner transport. This follows the killing of 14 learners in a school transport crash in Vanderbijlpark, Gauteng, last Monday. Makaneta is deeply disturbed by the growing number of scholar transport incidents being reported across South Africa:

Moving abroad:

# Widespread heavy snow and rain has resulted in the death of at least eleven people in the US. The fatalities have been recorded in New York, Louisiana, Austin, and Kansas. Seventeen states and the district of Columbia have declared weather emergencies, with more than 900-thousand customers without electricity. Over 17-thousand flights have been cancelled due to the storm, with schools in major cities cancelling classes or moving to remote learning. Nearly 90-million people are under extreme cold watches or warnings issued by the Weather Service.

# American football: The Seattle Seahawks defeated the Los Angeles Rams 31-27 in the NFC Championship Game to book their fourth Super Bowl appearance. Wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba starred for the Seahawks with ten catches and a touchdown, while quarterback Sam Darnold threw three touchdowns. Meanwhile, the Patriots booked their spot at a 12th Super Bowl with a 10-7 victory over the Denver Broncos. This year’s title decider on 8 February will be a rematch of 2015, when the Patriots beat the Seahawks to deny them back-to-back Super Bowl wins.

# And financial news: The gold price surged to a record high above five-thousand-dollar per fine ounce this morning, as investors piled into safe-haven assets amid rising geo-political uncertainties. Gold climbed to five-thousand-and 89 dollar per fine ounce on the spot market. Experts from local firms like Ninety One, Knox, and Rand Swiss view the rally as positive for South Africa’s economy and its gold miners, predicting prices could range from existing highs to over six-thousand dollar per ounce later this year.

The dollar currently trades at 16-rand-2-cents and the euro at 18-rand-98-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-89-cents and Bitcoin trades at 87-thousand-661-dollars. Gold sells at five-thousand-and-93-dollars-83-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 65-dollars-13-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….