News 07:00

BULLETIN 6 January 7 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Saftu demands the reinstatement of all Community Work Programme staff
# Donald Trump hails Italy’s prime minister as a fantastic woman
# And finally, the donkey that inspired Eddie Murphy’s character in Shrek dies

# Saftu is calling on all progressive forces to join the fight against the termination of the contracts of the Community Work Programme workers aged 55 and above. Saftu’s Mogoshadi Maserumule says together, South Africans can demand a government that places people before profits and ensures dignity for every worker, regardless of age. She says many of these workers have been in the programme since its inception in 2010, filling critical gaps left by government vacancies:

Meanwhile, the MK Party is demanding the immediate reversal of the government cruel decision to terminate Community Work Programme contracts. It also seeks a recommitment to safeguard the livelihoods of CWP participants. The MK Party’s Visvin Reddy says the CWP, introduced during president Jacob Zuma’s administration, was a groundbreaking intervention aimed at alleviating poverty and unemployment by creating one-million jobs:

# The South African Weather Service has issued a Level 8 warning for distributive rainfall predicted over large parts of KwaZulu-Natal today and continuing into Wednesday. The Service said the rain could lead to widespread flooding of roads and settlements, a danger to life, and the loss of livestock along the coast of KwaZulu-Natal. It could potentially disrupt major routes across the province during a time when holidaymakers will be travelling back home. The KZN MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Thulasizwe Buthelezi, said disaster management teams have been placed on high alert.

# US president-elect Donald Trump hailed Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni as a fantastic woman as she became the latest world leader to visit his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida. Meloni is a member of the right-wing Brothers of Italy party. She took office in October 2022 and is known to have ties to the incoming Trump administration, in particular with his ally Elon Musk. Her visit to Florida comes after she dined with Trump and Musk during the reopening of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris last month.

# Cricket: Australia on Sunday clinched the fifth test against India in Sydney by six wickets to seal the series 3-1. India were dismissed for 157, just 45 minutes into the morning session of day three. Set with a target of 162 to win, the hosts reached it before tea against an attack missing injured strike bowler Jasprit Bumrah. They regained the Border-Gavaskar trophy for the first time since 2014-15. The victory also ensured the Australians their place in the World Test Championship where they will defend their title in the June final against South Africa.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-74-cents and the euro at 19-rand-32-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-30-cents and Bitcoin trades at 98-thousand-709-dollar-20-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-643-dollars-27-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 76-dollars-64-cents a barrel.

# And finally: The donkey thought to have inspired Eddie Murphy’s character in the Shrek films has died at age 30. Miniature donkey Perry died after battling a painful hoof disease called laminitis. The donkey was born in 1994 and had lived in Barron Park, Palo Alto, California, from the age of three. The first Shrek film was released in 2001 and won an Oscar for Best Animated Feature. It tells the story of a lonely ogre who befriends a talking donkey named Donkey, known for his humour. Donkeys typically live to be between 25 and 40 years old.

Stay tuned for more news………….