News 14:00

BULLETIN 10 January 2 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Border Management Authority cracks down on illegal immigration facilitators
# Two nurses are abducted, assaulted and raped at the Chuene Clinic in Limpopo
# And Tennis: Alexander Zverev says he has the mindset to win his first Grand Slam at the Australian Open

# The Border Management Authority has arrested several facilitators aiding illegal immigration ahead of the final travel surge as schools reopen. Commissioner Mike Masiapato credits advanced technology for the arrests and notes challenges with corridor management. Masiapato also confirmed that migrants who had overstayed in South Africa have also been prohibited from re-entry. He confirmed that arrested facilitators will face criminal charges for promoting illegal migration:

# Limpopo MEC for Health, Dieketseng Mashego, has condemned the abducting, assault and rape of two nurses at Chuene Clinic in the early hours of this morning. The department’s spokesperson, Neil Shikwambana, says heavily armed men entered the clinic, overpowered three security personnel, and tied them up before abducting the two nurses. He says this incident occurred around 1am this morning while the nurses were on night duty, and they only reappeared at 5am:

# Cape Town mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis says the ANC is lying about the reason behind its 113th birthday celebrations in Khayelitsha. ANC secretary general Fikile Mbalula said it was strategic as the party wants to reconnect with its supporters. Hill-Lewis says due to the ANC’s incompetence they were too late to book the Cape Town or Athlone stadiums. The Stormers are playing at the Cape Town stadium and the Klopse Carnival is in the Athlone stadium. He says by 5 December last year the ANC had not booked a venue for their January 8 rally.

# Moody’s Ratings says Sub-Saharan Africa is projected to achieve 4.2-percent growth in 2025, up from 3.8-percent in 2024. According to the report, this is supported by energy, infrastructure investments, and an expanding services sector. South Africa and Nigeria are leading with reforms enhancing creditworthiness. Despite regional challenges, fiscal consolidation is stabilising debt outlooks. Key growth drivers include climate-critical commodity investments, with Angola and Congo benefiting from new oil and gas projects. The report also warned that environmental and political risks persist.

# Tennis: World number two Alexander Zverev says he has the mindset to win a first Grand Slam, but admitted Jannik Sinner was the red-hot favourite to defend his Australian Open title. The German is approaching the opening major of the year with his confidence high after winning the Rome and Paris Masters 1000 titles in recent months. But a Grand Slam has remained elusive for nearly a decade, with runner-up finishes at the 2020 US Open and French Open last year his best efforts so far.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-98-cents and the euro at 19-rand-55-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-35-cents and Bitcoin trades at 94-thousand-881-dollars. Gold sells at two-thousand-682-dollars-96-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 78-dollars-34-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….