News 09:00

BULLETIN 2 January 9 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# An education activist urges Parliament to address the planned Western Cape teacher job cuts
# GIWUSA warns January’s fuel hike will deepen the burden on the working-class
# And Rugby: SA Rugby chooses Rhino as its official match ball supplier

# Education activist Hendrick Makaneta has urged Parliament to address the planned cut of two-thousand-407 teacher posts in the Western Cape. Makaneta has warned this move could lead to bigger classes and disrupted learning. He calls on the Basic Education Portfolio Committee to intervene and demands public consultations to protect the future of learners and the quality of education:

# The General Industries Workers Union of South Africa has condemned the fuel hikes for January. GIWUSA spokesperson Koketso Phasha says this will add strain to the working class amid economic challenges. Petrol increased by 12 to 19 cents-per-litre, diesel by 7.5 to 10.5 cents-per-litre, while illuminating paraffin decreased by 9.5 cents yesterday. He has urged government action, including fuel subsidies:

# A New Year’s Eve inferno engulfed about 20 shacks in an informal settlement in Stellenbosch leaving 90 people, including babies, destitute. The fire broke out in Kayamandi three hours before midnight and a crew of 23 firefighters battled for nearly two hours to extinguish the blaze. Residents are now relying on humanitarian aid from the Gift of the Givers Foundation and Stellenbosch municipality. A request has since been made for assistance with school uniforms and stationery destroyed in the fire. Many of the families earlier used their stokvel money to buy school supplies for their children.

# In a series of videos, the suspect in the deadly New Year’s attack in New Orleans discussed planning to kill his family and having dreams that helped inspire him to join ISIS. Authorities believe the 42-year-old man, who police suspect drove a pickup truck into a crowd of revelers on Bourbon Street, killing at least 15 people and injuring dozens more, made the chilling recordings while driving from his home in Texas to Louisiana. Shamsud-Din Jabbar was a US citizen and Army veteran who served in Afghanistan.

# Rugby: The world’s number one rugby training equipment supplier, Rhino, came on board after signing a seven-year partnership with SA Rugby. Rhino will provide match balls at international level for the Springbok men and women’s teams, as well as for all domestic competitions. The CEO of SA Rugby Rian Oberholzer says they are excited about what the next seven years are going to bring through this new partnership. Rhino is also the official match ball supplier of Asia Rugby and Rugby Europe, accounting for over 80 rugby playing nations.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-80-cents and the euro at 19-rand-48-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-55-cents and Bitcoin trades at 95-thousand-318-dollars. Gold sells at two-thousand-634-dollars-34-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 74-dollars-66-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….