News 15:00

BULLETIN 13 May 3 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The death toll in the George building collapse tragedy rises to 26 
# A fatal tavern shooting sparks a gang-related probe in Mitchells Plain 
# And cricket: Six teams are vying for the three remaining berths in the IPL play-offs

# The death toll in the George building collapse has risen to 26, as rescue operations continue tirelessly. Among the 81 individuals present during the collapse, 55 have been rescued, while 13 remain hospitalised, and 26 are still unaccounted for. Efforts to expedite the identification of the deceased are underway, and families with missing loved ones are urged to provide detailed information. The tragic incident has prompted a national call for psychosocial support practitioners to assist survivors.

# Western Cape Serious and Violent Crimes Unit detectives are investigating a shooting incident in Mitchells Plain, Cape Town. Two unknown assailants opened fire at a group of men at a tavern, leaving three dead and six injured. MEC of Community Safety and Police Oversight, Reagen Allen, says the injured victims have been hospitalised as a manhunt ensues for the suspects. He says additional forces have been deployed in the gang prone area:

# Electricity minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has commended South Africa’s achievement of 47 consecutive days without load-shedding. Briefing the media on the Energy Action Plan at Kusile power station in Mpumalanga, Ramokgopa praised progress in planned maintenance and enhanced energy availability. He also notes a reduced reliance on diesel as a positive development in the nation’s energy sector:

# Cricket: Six teams still have a realistic chance to reach the play-off stage of the Indian Premier League, with only Kolkata Knight Riders already qualifying while Mumbai Indians won’t survive the group phase. Royal Challengers Bengaluru looked down and out a few weeks ago, but five victories in a row propelled them to fifth place in the standings. The other teams vying for the remaining three play-off berths are Chennai Super Kings, Delhi Capitals, Rajasthan Royals, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Lucknow Super Giants and Gujarat Titans.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-35-cents and the euro at 19-rand-80-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-1-cent and Bitcoin trades at 62-thousand-509-dollars-10-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-339-dollars-19-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 83-dollars-12-cents a barrel.

# And finally: The Africa Centre For Tobacco Industry Monitoring And Policy Research has emphasised targeting youth in this month’s anti-tobacco campaign. With an estimated 37-million youths globally using tobacco, the focus is on addressing the prevalence of hubbly-bubbly, particularly in schools. The centre’s Professor Lekan Ayo-Yusuf urges government to adopt a bill restricting hubbly-bubbly in public spaces and curbing nicotine addiction:

Stay tuned for more news………….