News 13:00

BULLETIN 22 February 1 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Steenhuisen says FMD vaccines alone will not defeat the disease
# A camera finds only water and mud as the search for five trapped miners at Ekapa continues
# And Pakistan launches strikes on Afghanistan

# The Minister of Agriculture, John Steenhuisen has stressed that vaccines for foot-and-mouth disease alone will not defeat the disease in the country. He says quarantine rules, movement permits and biosecurity measures exist to protect every farmer in the country. The minister says those who deliberately move animals illegally, conceal infections, or ignore restrictions threaten the recovery of the entire sector:

# The agriculture organisation, TLU SA has asked president Cyril Ramaphosa to clarify the appointment of the Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa’s chief economist, Wandile Sihlobo, to serve as presidential envoy for agriculture, rural development, land reform and international trade. Bennie Van Zyl says the organisation is concerned about the centralisation of agricultural power to the Presidency:

# Eskom says its diesel usage over the past week saw two-thousand-and-48 gigawatt-hour of energy being sent into the grid at a cost of 14.89-million-rand. This equats to a 0.433-percent load factor. Spokesperson Daphne Mokwena says year-to-date, total diesel expenditure is now 5.49-billion-rand lower than at the same time last year. She says this reflects substantial cost savings and continued improvements in operational performance driven by Eskom’s turnaround initiatives:

# The CEO of the Ekapa diamond mine, Jahn Hohne told the media only water and mud were found underground as the search for five trapped miners continue in Kimberley, in the Northern Cape. The workers were trapped 890 metres below the surface on Tuesday. Hohne says cameras lowered into drilled holes found no sign of survivable conditions. He says all water must be pumped from the section before work can commence to clear the area of mud and rock in order to reach the workers. 

# Pakistan has carried out multiple overnight air strikes on Afghanistan, which the Taliban has said killed and wounded dozens of people, including women and children. Islamabad said the attacks targeted seven alleged militant camps and hideouts near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. Afghanistan has condemned the attacks, saying they targeted multiple civilian homes and a religious school. The fresh strikes come after the two countries agreed to a fragile ceasefire in October following deadly cross-border clashes, though subsequent fighting has taken place. Pakistan and Afghanistan share a two-thousand-574 kilometre mountainous border.

# Rugby: Ireland coach Andy Farrell praised his side’s fighting spirit in their 42-21 demolition of England on Saturday, hailing his team’s progress after a disappointing start to their Six Nations campaign. Meanwhile Scotland came from behind to beat Wales 26-23 in a thrilling game at the Principality Stadium on Saturday.  After struggling for most of the time, the Scots dragged themselves back into the game with a decisive try in the 75th minute.  Scotland will now try to complete their first Triple Crown since 1990 when they go to Dublin to face Ireland in the final round of the tournament.

Stay tuned for more news………….