News 08:00

BULLETIN 8 January 8 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Paul Mashatile says the ANC house is still standing and will never fall
# The DA says Bheki Cele is under pressure to consider specialised units for Nelson Mandela Bay
# And, 171 Boeing 737s are grounded to complete safety inspections

# The ANC deputy president Paul Mashatile says the ANC house is still standing after 112 years and will never fall. Mashatile was speaking during a church service in Mbombela, Mpumalanga, as part of the party buildup programme to the January 8 Statement which will be held at the Mbombela Stadium this Saturday. He says the ANC’s 112th celebration is not just to celebrate, but also to defend the organisation and the democracy of the South African nation:

# The South African Communist Party general secretary, Solly Mapaila says the party has never approached any person to seek illegitimate funding, following the allegation that it received at least 1-million-rand from the National Student Financial Aid Scheme. Mapaila addressed alliance members at the 29th commemoration of the death of SACP Chairperson, Joe Slovo, at the Avalon Cemetery in Soweto. He says it is unacceptable for anyone to try to co-opt the name of the SACP in their gossip or shenanigans:

# The DA in Eastern Cape says, its call for the deployment of national specialised crime-fighting units in crime-ridden Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality is now under consideration by minister of Police, Bheki Cele. In October last year, the party wrote to Cele after six people in one day had been brutally murdered in suspected gang killings. The DA’s Andrew Whitfield says, the party requested his urgent intervention to deploy SAPS specialised resources to deal with the ongoing killings, specifically in the gang-infested northern areas of Gqeberha:

# The US aviation regulator has said 171 Boeing 737 Max 9 planes will remain grounded until it is satisfied the planes are safe. The Federal Aviation Administration has been inspecting the jets after an incident on Friday. An Alaska Airlines flight had to make an emergency descent, after a large section of the plane’s outer shell fell to the ground shortly after take-off. The plane, carrying 177 passengers and crew, landed safely back in Portland. Several passengers were injured. The vast majority of Boeing 737 Max 9s used in the US are operated by United Airlines and Alaska Airlines.

# Tennis: Alexander Zverev saved two match points in a gruelling three-set win over Hubert Hurkacz to help Germany upset top seeds Poland and clinch a maiden United Cup title in Sydney on Sunday. The world number seven secured a 6-7, 7-6 , 6-4 victory after top-ranked Iga Swiatek had swept past Angelique Kerber 6-3, 6-0. Zverev and partner Laura Siegemund sealed the title with a 6-4, 5-7, 10-4 win over Swiatek and Hurkacz in the deciding mixed doubles. Swiatek is in top form and heading into the Australian Open on a winning streak of 16 matches.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-74-cents and the euro at 20-rand-49-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-81-cents and Bitcoin trades at 43-thousand-610-dollars-4-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-36-dollars-33-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 77-dollars-89-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….