News 06:00

BULLETIN 22 January 6 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# President Ramaphosa outlines South Africa’s G20 priorities
# AfriForum says the arrest of a crime warden exposes the risks of rushed recruitment
# And Donald Trump’s cryptocurrency crashes

# President Cyril Ramaphosa says South Africa will focus its G20 Presidency on solidarity, equality, and sustainable development. The G20 is important in shaping and strengthening global architecture and governance on major international economic issues. In his address at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Ramaphosa, says it is important to foster cooperation to deal with the challenges the world faces:

Meanwhile, Ramaphosa calls for global cooperation to tackle 21st century challenges such as climate change, pandemics, poverty, and geopolitical tensions. In his address, he stressed that united action is crucial to addressing these crises and ensuring progress for all nations. Ramaphosa urged world leaders to prioritise collaboration, and highlighted the role of institutions like the G20 in promoting solidarity and inclusive growth, particularly for the world’s poorest and most vulnerable:

# AfriForum says Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi has prioritised political gain over public safety in his crime prevention wardens programme. This follows the arrest of a warden for alleged involvement in a staged kidnapping and robbery. The civil rights organisation says inadequate training and poor vetting processes have undermined the programme’s integrity, putting communities at risk. AfriForum’s Jacques Broodryk urges residents to demand Lesufi’s dismissal over the programme’s failures:

# Alleged underworld gang boss, Nafiz Modack’s attorney, advocate Bashier Sibda, has argued that the State’s case against his client is flawed as many of the witnesses lacked credibility. On Tuesday, the Western Cape High Court heard Modack’s and two of his accused’s applications for charges against them to be withdrawn. The alleged underworld gang boss and his 14 co-accused are facing 122 charges for various crimes including murder, corruption, and money laundering. Judge Robert Henney said it was unlikely that he would grant the application.

# Donald Trump’s official cryptocurrency has plunged by 32-percent over the past 24 hours. It comes amid disappointment at the president’s failure to introduce pro-crypto policies on day one, as he had promised on the campaign trail. His “meme coin” $TRUMP has now halved in value since reaching a record high two days ago. The first lady’s coin $MELANIA, has fared even worse, with a 61-percent crash in 24 hours. The decision to launch their own cryptocurrencies has attracted a fierce backlash even from Bitcoiners and Trump supporters.

# Motorsport: Haas has appointed Laura Mueller as the first woman race engineer in Formula One as part of a shake-up of their team. The German will work with newly recruited driver Esteban Ocon while another woman, Carine Cridelich, is set to join as head of strategy from Red Bull’s Racing Bulls team. Francesco Nenci is the new chief engineer. US-based Haas is seeking to build on last season’s seventh-placed finish in the constructors’ championship with a new drivers’ line-up that features Ocon and Oliver Bearman.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-51-cents and the euro at 19-rand-26-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-80-cents and Bitcoin trades at 106-thousand-72-dollar-50-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-743-dollars-13-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 79-dollars-25-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….