News 13:00

BULLETIN 25 January 1 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Defence Department completes the investigation into a fatal fire at a Northern Cape Defence Force training base
# AfriForum is concerned over the tardy reaction to the Vaal River’s water lettuce crisis
# And cricket: A depleted Proteas Test squad is ready to challenge New Zealand

# An inquiry into the deaths of six soldiers in a fire at the Lohatlha Combat Training base in the Northern Cape has been completed. The October fire resulted in extensive damage to the training facility. The report has been sent to the Department of Defence’s legal team for scrutiny. Following a legal review, it will be submitted to the chief of the South African National Defence Force, Rudzani Maphwanya, and then to Defence and Military Veterans minister Thandi Modise for further action.

# AfriForum is calling for immediate and effective action to be taken to eradicate the plague of water lettuce in the Vaal River system. It says there must be a joint effort between the government, environmental organisations and local communities. AfriForum’s Lambert de Klerk says they want information on the measures the Departments of Water and Sanitation, and of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, will put in place to not only solve the issue, but ensure the long-term health of the Vaal River system:

# The Information and Communications Technology Integration Framework Conference has revealed South African schools lag in ICT integration despite significant investment. The three-day conference in Boksburg, Ekurhuleni, explored how ICT enhances teaching and learning. The World Conference on Qualitative Research found while most African schools use ICT, only 60-percent employ it as a primary curriculum method. The conference recommended increased budgets and training to promote digital integration in education.

# More than 70 people have died in southwest Mali after an artisanal gold mine collapsed. The government has offered its condolences to the grieving families. It also called on communities living near mining sites and gold miners to respect safety requirements and to work only within the perimeters dedicated to gold panning. Gold mining sites in Mali are regularly the scene of deadly landslides, and authorities struggle to control artisanal mining of the metal.

# Cricket: The Proteas Test squad is in New Zealand for a two-Test series, but most frontline players are not there. The series clashes with the SA20, meaning none of red-ball coach Shukri Conrad’s first-choice players involved in the tournament are eligible. As a result, the Test squad features just seven capped players out of 15, with captain Neil Brand making his debut. The Proteas’ warm-up match starts on Monday, before the series begins on the fourth of next month. Batter Zubayr Hamza wants to make the most of the opportunity: 

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-90-cents and the euro at 20-rand-59-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-7-cents and Bitcoin trades at 40-thousand-and-57-dollars-71-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-and-14-dollars-40-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 80-dollars-85-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….