Transcript

Hello, I’m Erika, and welcome to today’s episode of ‘Just a Moment News’ on July 31st, 2024. Let’s dive into some intriguing headlines from around the world.

Starting off, Checkers Sixty60, a leading on-demand grocery delivery service in South Africa, reported a fifty-eight percent increase in sales for the year ending June 2024. This growth comes despite a slowdown from previous years, hinting at a post-COVID-19 normalization. Physical stores like Checkers and Checkers Hyper, which fulfill Sixty60 orders, saw a twelve percent rise in sales. Shoprite Holdings, the parent company, also introduced Checkers Xtra Savings Plus, a subscription model enhancing customer engagement. They expanded their presence by opening 292 new stores across Africa, now totaling 3,639 stores.

Moving on to election news from South Africa, the supplier of faulty voting management devices used in the 2024 elections, Ren-Form, is under scrutiny. These devices, linked to convicted fraudster Wicknell Chivayo, malfunctioned causing significant delays. Chivayo’s dealings extend to a controversial forty million dollar contract with the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission and dubious claims about securing exclusive Starlink distribution rights in Zimbabwe.

In sports, the Paris 2024 Olympics faced challenges with events planned in the Seine River. Unpredictable weather and increased bacterial levels due to heavy rains forced the postponement of the men’s triathlon. Despite a 1.4 billion euro investment to improve the river’s water quality, climate change continues to pose significant planning challenges for such events.

Additionally, the swimming competitions at the Olympics have sparked discussions about the “slowness” of the pool at Paris La Défense Arena. The pool, only 2.15 meters deep, has increased wave turbulence, leading to slower times and no world records in the initial days. This has affected athletes’ performances, who now focus more on race tactics rather than record-breaking times.

In a remarkable Olympic story, 61-year-old Ni Xia Lian, representing Luxembourg, became the oldest table tennis player to win a match at the Olympics. She defeated a 31-year-old opponent and is set to face the top-ranked women’s single player next.

In the realm of energy, Type One Energy, backed by Bill Gates and others, has secured a $53.5 million funding round to further their development of a fusion reactor. With a total of $82.5 million raised, they aim to finalize their reactor design by the end of this decade and move towards construction.

Lastly, NASA’s Perseverance rover has detected potential biosignatures in a Martian rock, which could be indicative of past microbial activity. While these findings are promising, they require further analysis on Earth to determine their biological origins, marking a significant step in our search for ancient life on Mars.

That wraps up our news for today. I’m Erika, and this has been ‘Just a Moment News’. Thank you for tuning in, and we’ll see you next time.

Keywords - moment, daily, news