News 14:00

BULLETIN 14 November 2 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Presidency reports a rise in the vetting efforts for senior public sector officials
# Boxing: Mike Tyson is criticised for returning to the ring at the age of 58
# And giant rats are trained to sniff out illegally smuggled goods

# The chairperson of Parliament’s standing committee on Public Accounts, Songezo Zibi, has voiced concern over delays in the vetting of senior government officials, despite improvements. During a briefing on the matter, he admitted the current vetting process struggles with a backlog, resource shortages, and unfilled positions, citing that not all senior officials are vetted before assuming critical roles. Efforts are being made to improve the system, but Zibi emphasised the need for stricter oversight:

# The Treasury has proposed a minimum price for alcoholic beverages and changes to excise tax frameworks. The new rules suggest excise duty rate adjustments within expected inflation and specific duty bands for wine and beer based on alcohol content. According to the Treasury, these proposals aim to curb alcohol consumption and related harm, aligning with World Health Organisation recommendations. Public comments are invited by 13 December.

# The Griekwastad Regional Court in the Northern Cape has sentenced two men to 15 years in prison each for robbing and assaulting a 66-year-old farmer in 2020. Richard Langeveld and Sam Mahlangu, along with accomplices, attacked the farmer with a hot iron and stole his vehicle. The National Prosecuting Authority welcomes the sentence as a strong deterrent against violent crime.

 # Boxing: Former world heavyweight champion Mike Tyson is facing criticism for returning to the ring at the age of 58. The American will fight 27-year-old Youtuber Jake Paul in a Netflix-backed bout in Arlington, Texas, tomorrow. They will face off over eight two-minute rounds. Tyson last fought professionally in 2005. Critics describe the bout as a macabre circus act with an unacceptable level of risk to Tyson, who will reportedly receive over 365-million-rand. Paul says he won’t hold back:

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-34-cents and the euro at 19-rand-28-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-19-cents and Bitcoin trades at 91-thousand-266-dollars. Gold sells at two-thousand-541-dollars-84-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 72-dollars-11-cents a barrel.

# And finally: A new kind of border patrol agent could soon start work in African ports, sniffing out illegally smuggled goods. The African giant pouched rats have been trained to identify pangolin scales, elephant ivory, rhino horn and other items from at-risk species. They are trained in Tanzania by a nonprofit that deploys scent-detection animals. The creatures have an incredible sense of smell, are agile and relatively inexpensive to care for, compared to the dogs traditionally used. The group already trains rats to sniff out landmines and detect tuberculosis.

Stay tuned for more news………….