News 15:00

BULLETIN 29 January 3 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Ramaphosa sets up a new unit to probe claims from the Madlanga commission
# SALGA warns climate disasters are becoming deadlier
# And tennis: Sabalenka is back in the Australian Open final

# President Cyril Ramaphosa has directed acting Police minister Firoz Cachalia and national police commissioner Fannie Masemola to constitute a new special investigations task team to investigate claims from the Madlanga commission. Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya says Ramaphosa has studied the interim report and welcomes the commission’s referrals of matters for immediate criminal investigation and urgent decisions on prosecution:

# The South African Local Government Association says the recovery of the body of Ekurhuleni mayoral committee member for Roads and Transport Planning, Andile Mngwevu, in Mozambique, is a tragic reminder of the growing impact of climate-related disasters. Mngwevu and his companions went missing last week after their vehicle was swept away by floodwaters. SALGA’s Motalatale Modiba extended condolences to the families and communities affected by the floods:

# The Garden Route District Municipality says while several parts of the country have reported outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease, the Southern Cape has to date remained free of confirmed infections. Spokesperson Herman Pieters says cattle and dairy farmers are taking proactive steps to protect their herds. He says farmers are currently implementing a range of biosecurity measures to reduce the risk of the disease spreading through the Garden Route:

# Tennis: Two-time women’s champion Aryna Sabalenka is back in the final of the Australian Open. The world number one from Belarus easily dispatched of 12th-seeded Ukrainian Elina Svitolina in straight sets. Sabalenka won the tournament in 2023 and ’24 before losing to American Madison Keys in last year’s final. She will play for the title on Saturday against fifth-seeded Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, who defeated sixth-seeded American Jessica Pegula in the other semifinal.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 15-rand-76-cents and the euro at 18-rand-84-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-75-cents and Bitcoin trades at 87-thousand-683-dollars. Gold sells at five-thousand-510-dollars-74-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 68-dollars-52-cents a barrel.

# And finally: Eskom has marked a practical milestone in linking South Africa’s Just Energy Transition to new local economic opportunities in climate-smart food production and skills development. This is through the launch of the Grootvlei Climate Smart Horticulture Centre at the Grootvlei power station in Mpumalanga. This is in collaboration with the provincial government and the government of the Netherlands. Eskom says the focus of the centre is on practical training, skills development, and value-chain development in climate-smart horticulture rather than large-scale commercial production at this stage.

Stay tuned for more news………….