News 17:00

BULLETIN 3 December 5 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# South Africa’s gross domestic product shows negative growth in the third quarter
# Dirco seeks to recover over one-million-rand for rental property damages by overseas officials
# And cricket: Bradman’s Baggy Green sells for 4.5-million-rand at an auction in Sydney

# South Africa’s gross domestic product decreased by 0.3-percent in the third quarter of this year, following a slight increase in the previous quarter. The decline was mainly driven by a 28.8-percent drop in the agriculture, forestry, and fishing sectors, as well as decreased activities in transport and trade. Household spending rose by 0.5-percent, contributing to economic performance, while government consumption decreased. Statistics South Africa’s Bokang Vumbukani-Lepolesa says exports and imports also saw a decline, impacting GDP expenditure:

# The Department of International Relations and Cooperation has attempted to recover over one-million-rand from officials abroad for damages to rental properties. Over the past five years, Dirco incurred 1.3-million-rand in losses, with only 200-thousand-rand recovered. News24 reports that a total of 33 disciplinary cases were filed, but only two officials were suspended. The largest loss occurred in 2023/’24, totaling over 600-thousand-rand. Dirco continues efforts to recover the remaining losses.

# The City of Cape Town has deployed over 680 lifeguards to beaches and swimming pools ahead of the summer tourism boom. This forms part of a record festive safety deployment of over five-thousand personnel across the metro. Mayoral committee member for Community Services and Health, Patricia van der Ross, says the Identikidz child safety project will also be in full swing, with this initiative tagging more than 130-thousand children last summer:

# Cricket: The cap worn by legendary Australian batter Don Bradman sold for over 4.5-million-rand at an auction in Sydney. He wore the Baggy Green during the 1947/’48 Test series against India in which he scored a total of 715 runs. Bradman retired soon afterwards with a world-record Test batting average of 99.94. Another Baggy Green he wore during his Test debut in 1928 sold for 5.2-million-rand in 2020, while great Australian spinner Shane Warne’s sold for 11.7-million that same year.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-9-cents and the euro at 19-rand-1-cent. One British pound costs 22-rand-88-cents and Bitcoin trades at 94-thousand-525-dollars. Gold sells at two-thousand-643-dollars-32-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 72-dollars-87-cents a barrel.

# And finally: A bear that ran amok in a supermarket in Akita City in northern Japan has been caught two days after it attacked a worker. The 47-year-old employee sustained a minor head injury. Authorities were only able to trap and put down the animal two days later, after it ransacked the meat section and damaged some shelves. Bear attacks are becoming a growing headache for the country, especially in northern Japan, where mountain ranges and lush bush provide an ideal habitat.

Stay tuned for more news………….