News 14:00

BULLETIN 19 December 2 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# High traffic volumes continue to be recorded on the N3 Toll Route
# Efforts to attract holidaymakers back to Durban are yielding results
# And the International Cricket Council reaches an agreement with Pakistan and India for the Champions Trophy tournament

# The N3 Toll Concession says high traffic volumes continue to be recorded on the N3 Toll Route in Mpumalanga, Gauteng, the Free State and KwaZulu-Natal today. Spokesperson Thania Dhoogra says these volumes are expected to increase further over the course of the coming weekend. She says a number of serious crashes have been attended to since the start of this holiday season, and more than 80-percent of these crashes have been caused by human error:

Meanwhile, Tourism minister Patricia de Lille says efforts to revive Durban as a holiday destination has yielded positive results. The eThekwini municipality expects 1.3 million visitors over this festive period. Speaking to SABC News, the minister lauded the presidential task team for working towards driving holiday makers back to the city. De Lille says Durban saw a period of decline from 1.45 million visitors in 2015 to about 700-thousand last year:

# Asian markets sank today following a severe sell-off on Wall Street that came after the Federal Reserve halved its rates outlook. While yesterday’s US rate cut was widely expected, its closely watched projections for further moves suggested the bank will cut rates just twice next year, as opposed to the four previously forecast. Investors had already been speculating about how the Fed would position itself as Donald Trump prepares to take office amid warnings that his plans to cut taxes, slash regulations and impose tariffs on China could reignite inflation.

# Cricket: India will play its matches in next year’s Champions Trophy tournament at neutral venues in accordance with an agreement the International Cricket Council reached with the country and the hosts, Pakistan. India wasn’t prepated to visit its longtime political arch-enemy. In return, Pakistan won’t visit India for ICC events until 2027, but those matches will also be played at neutral fields. The Champions Cup, featuring the host and the seven highest-ranked teams from last year’s 50-over World Cup, starts on the 19th of February.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-22-cents and the euro at 18-rand-98-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-7-cents and Bitcoin trades at 102-thousand-164-dollars. Gold sells at two-thousand-620-dollars-63-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 73-dollars-10-cents a barrel.

# And finally: The Cape Town Children’s Choir will represent South Africa at the 2025 INTERKULTUR African Asia Pacific Choir Games in Mauritius. The choir will showcase their proudly local talent alongside choral groups from over 100 countries. Competitive categories range from open competitions to the championships and the Grand Prix of Nations. The choir is seeking support to cover travel costs, uniforms and other expenses that come with international competitions.

Stay tuned for more news………….