News 15:00

BULLETIN 28 March 3 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# A specialised team is established to address the national water challenges
# Southbound traffic towards Durban is expected to gradually increase
# And golf: Cape Town and the SA Women’s Open tee up a new partnership agreement 

# Cabinet has announced the formation of a specialised task team dedicated to confronting the pressing water challenges. The team, made up of representatives from departments like Water and Sanitation, Agriculture, and Public Works and Infrastructure, will devise strategies and implement solutions for the country’s complex water issues. Minister in the Presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, told the media with water scarcity becoming an increasingly urgent issue, the establishment of this team highlights government’s commitment to tackling the problem head-on:

# The N3 Toll Concession says southbound traffic towards Durban is expected to gradually increase on the N3 Toll Route between Gauteng, Free State and KwaZulu-Natal today with busy traffic conditions between one-thousand to one-thousand-500 vehicles per hour in the afternoon and evening. These busy conditions are expected to continue tomorrow from early morning, to about noon. Operations manager Thania Dhoogra says they will be on high alert for the duration of the Easter Weekend:

# Battles and bombardment pounded the Gaza Strip today, after the United States said Israel agreed to reschedule cancelled talks with tensions worsening between the allies. US criticism of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has mounted over Gaza’s civilian death toll, dire food shortages, and Israel’s plans to push its ground offensive against Hamas militants into the far-southern city of Rafah. Bombardment and fighting have continued despite a binding United Nations Security Council resolution passed on Monday demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages.

# Golf: The City of Cape Town says its council has given approval for the Events Department to enter into a new agreement to sponsor the SA Women’s Open for the next three years. Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, JP Smith, says the new agreement with the Women’s Professional Golf Association will come into effect ahead of the 2024 tournament set to take place at the Erinvale golf eEstate in Somerset West next month:

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 19-rand-2-cents and the euro at 20-rand-53-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-1-cent and Bitcoin trades at 70-thousand-737-dollars-73-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-212-dollars-40-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 86-dollars-40-cents a barrel.

# And finally: The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has reported 44 disease outbreaks in 2024, causing 104 active epidemic emergencies on the continent. Major diseases include cholera, measles, dengue fever, meningitis, monkeypox, diphtheria, and the West Nile virus. Cholera reportedly spread across 15 countries, with eight-thousand-440 confirmed cases and 45-thousand-939 suspected cases. Zambia was hit hardest with 18-thousand-139 cases and 577 deaths, while South Africa reported only two cases linked to Zimbabwe, with no fatalities.

Stay tuned for more news………….