News 15:00

BULLETIN 17 December 3 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Redcliffe Temple collapse is linked to structural failure
# Cricket: The Proteas men are under pressure in the penultimate T20 against India
# And Japan’s last two giant pandas are heading to China

# Public Works and Infrastructure minister Dean Macpherson says the Redcliffe temple in eThekwini, KwaZulu-Natal, collapsed while concrete was being poured on its upper levels. Preliminary evidence points to a sudden structural failure, likely caused by form-work or shuttering issues. Macpherson also confirmed that authorities are urgently working to identify the supplier and builder responsible to prevent similar incidents elsewhere:

# COPE rejects government’s independent transmission projects programme, valued at 440-billion-rand, which invites foreign corporations, including Adani and Southern Power, to construct high-voltage transmission lines. The party’s Pakes Dikgetsi says the initiative undermines national control, risks privatisation, and threatens economic sovereignty. He says they call for a state-led approach empowering Eskom and other state-owned enterprises to secure energy, create jobs, and benefit South Africans:

News from abroad:

# Rwandan-backed M23 rebels promised to withdraw from Uvira in the Democratic Republic of Congo at the request of the US, which had criticised last week’s seizure of the eastern town as a threat to mediation efforts. The rebels entered Uvira, on the border with Burundi, less than a week after the presidents of Congo and Rwanda met with US president Donald Trump in Washington and affirmed their commitment to a peace deal known as the Washington Accords. Rwanda denies supporting M23 and has blamed Congolese and Burundian forces for the renewed fighting.

# Cricket: South Africa’s men are under pressure in today’s fourth T20 against India in Lucknow. They are trailing 2-1 in the five-match series and need a victory today to avoid a series defeat. The hosts won the first and the third encounters in Cuttack and Dharamsala, respectively, while the Proteas were victorious in the second one in New Chandigarh. This followed after India clinched the one-day series 2-1. The final T20 will be played in Ahmedabad on Friday.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-73-cents and the euro at 19-rand-60-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-30-cents and Bitcoin trades at 86-thousand-779-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-316-dollars-58-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 59-dollars-99-cents a barrel.

# And finally: A day after news broke that Japan would soon lose its last two giant pandas to China, thousands of fans flocked to Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo to catch a final glimpse, with many bidding the twins a tearful farewell. The announcement that four-year-old Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei would soon depart was national news on Monday, disappointing a nation that has long had a love affair with pandas. The twins were born in the zoo in June 2021 and have been a drawing card since their parents departed last year.

Stay tuned for more news………….