News 09:00

BULLETIN 10 December 9 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# President Ramaphosa says elections continue to reflect the will of the people
# The FF Plus is concerned about the reinstatement of an air force major who was dismissed for hate speech
# And Australia’s social media ban takes effect

# President Cyril Ramaphosa says South Africans must be proud that for the last three decades the country has consistently held free and fair elections. He delivered the keynote address at the 70th anniversary of the Freedom Charter’s adoption in Boksburg, Gauteng, yesterday evening. The country is preparing for the local government elections next year. Ramaphosa says elections continue to reflect the will of the people, adding that democracy is deeply entrenched in society:

# The Freedom Front Plus says it is concerning that an air force major dismissed in 2018 for serious hate speech was reinstated less than a year later. An investigation found Major Vincent Mohlala guilty following a social media post he made after the murder of professor Cobus Naudé in 2018. The FF Plus Wouter Wessels says Mohlala was discharged from the South African National Defence Force in May 2018 but was reinstated in 2019. Wessels says Mohlala’s behaviour constituted a grave breach of the code of conduct for SANDF members.

# The DA in Gauteng says premier Panyaza Lesufi’s government is failing to turbocharge the economy to stimulate enterprise and create sustainable jobs, while addressing the endemic corruption holding the province at ransom. The council debated the 2024/2025 annual reports for various departments, including the Office of the Premier, Finance, Economic Development, and Agriculture. The DA’s Mike Moriarty says Lesufi’s lack of vision beyond headline-grabbing events has left residents worse off than before:

# Australia today became the first country to implement a minimum age for social media use, with platforms like Instagram, TikTok and YouTube forced to block more than a million accounts. This is expected to cause a global wave of regulation, with ten of the biggest platforms required to block Australians aged under 16 or be fined up to 562-million-rand. The law received harsh criticism from major technology companies and free speech advocates, but was praised by parents and child advocates. Governments from Denmark to Malaysia plan similar steps.

# Soccer: Five-time champions Barcelona came from behind to beat Eintracht Frankfurt 2-1 and strengthened their hopes of making the Champions League knockout stages. The victory takes Barcelona to ten points from their six matches. Dominik Szoboszlai’s late penalty gave Liverpool a 1-0 win over Inter Milan, with the Reds moving back into the top eight. Chelsea’s hopes of qualifying automatically for the knockouts were dealt a blow as Atalanta came from behind to win 2-1. There were also wins for Atletico Madrid, Tottenham Hotspur, and Monaco.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-3-cents and the euro at 19-rand-81-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-66-cents and Bitcoin trades at 92-thousand-538-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-207-dollars-34-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 61-dollars-86-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….