News 14:00

BULLETIN 12 August 2 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Mpumalanga’s Community Safety MEC is concerned about the number of crashes involving learners
# Parliament’s Sports committee says the country is ready to host the Olympic Games
# And, scientists find by boiling water it can remove most of the microplastics in it

# Mpumalanga MEC for Community Safety, Security and Liaison, Jackie Macie, is concerned about the recent number of crashes involving learners in the province. Three people including a learner were killed when a midi-bus, a bakkie and an articulated truck collided on the D2296 Road between Karino and Mbombela this morning.  The department’s spokesperson, Moeti Mmusi, says the midi bus was transporting learners to various schools in Mbombela.

# The Gauteng Education Department says it has identified several high-pressure areas, where schools received an overwhelming number of applications which exceed the capacity of learners that they can accommodate. This is for 2025 online admission applications for Grades 1 and 8. Laerskool Akasia in Tshwane West received one-thousand-418 applications for Grade 1 but it has a capacity of 240. MEC Matome Chiloane says placement is subject to the priority of placement criteria and availability of space:

# Agbiz chief economist Wandile Sihlobo has expressed support for the creation of a rapid response team to enhance foot-and-mouth disease surveillance. Following outbreaks in 30 farms across the Kouga and Kou-Kamma Municipalities, the Agriculture Department has declared a Disease Management Area. Quarantine and vaccination efforts cover 92-thousand cattle and 600 sheep. Sihlobo calls on farmers to observe biosecurity on their farms:

 # Olympic Games: Parliament’s portfolio committee on Sports, Arts and Culture says South Africa is ready to host the event. It calls on the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee to come up with a presentation and a productive plan to host the Olympics. The committee’s chairperson, Joe McGluwa, says South Africa has successfully hosted big events such as the Soccer World Cup, and the country can do so again:

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-20-cents and the euro at 19-rand-90-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-23-cents and Bitcoin trades at 58-thousand-446-dollars-67-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-441-dollars-63-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 80-dollars-33-cents a barrel.

# And finally, scientists found a remarkably easy way to remove harmful microplastics from water – just by boiling it. The scientists say when water is boiled before being used, it can remove between 25- and 90-percent of the microplastics therein. The team from Guangzhou University in China says the simple boiling strategy can decontaminate nano and microplastics from tap water, and has the potential to harmlessly alleviate human intake of the plastic through water consumption.

Stay tuned for more news………….