News 06:00

BULLETIN 11 December 6 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Basic Education Department has detected a matric exam breach during marking
# The DA sounds alarm as child malnutrition deaths surge
# And rugby: The Stormers get a Bok boost for their Champions Cup match against La Rochelle

# Minister of Basic Education Siviwe Gwarube has confirmed that a breach has been identified during the marking process of the 2025 National Senior Certificate examinations. The breach was detected through the department’s internal monitoring and oversight systems. The department says minister Gwarube will hold an urgent media briefing in Cape Town today. It says she will outline the immediate interventions and the measures being implemented to safeguard the integrity and credibility of the examination results.

# ANC secretary general Fikile Mbalula says the 2025 Global Gender Gap Report has ranked South Africa first in the world for women’s enrolment in all levels of education. Mbalula states the ranking reflects ANC policies that expanded access to education and removed apartheid-era barriers. He added that these results show real progress backed by data:

# The DA says urgent action is needed as child malnutrition continues to claim hundreds of lives in South Africa. Parliamentary figures show that between May and September this year, more than 300 children under five years died in public hospitals from moderate and severe malnutrition. The DA’s Michele Clarke says malnutrition is preventable and treatable:

# AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit says the family of Emmanuel Mbense, allegedly tortured and murdered in Brakpan, Gauteng, in 2022, is seeking justice. The unit argues that delays and possible cover-ups have eroded trust in the criminal justice system. Mbense’s brother, Nhlanhla, says testimony at the Madlanga commission revealed law enforcement officers were involved, and his body was dumped in a dam:

# A federal judge in New York has granted the Justice Department’s request to unseal grand jury documents of the 2019 federal investigation into the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Judge Richard Berman, who had denied a previous request from the department, says his latest ruling is based on the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which president Donald Trump signed into law last month. The law requires the department to release investigative material related to Epstein by 19 December, including unclassified records, documents, and communications.

# Rugby: Stormers head coach John Dobson has included nine Springboks in his starting line-up for Saturday’s Champions Cup encounter with La Rochelle at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium. Warrick Gelant, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Cobus Reinach, Evan Roos, and André-Hugo Venter all come into the line-up. The replacements bench includes hooker JJ Kotzé, lock Connor Evans, loose forward Ruan Ackermann, scrumhalf Imad Khan, and utility back Wandisile Simelane. Dobson says his team is looking to build on their encouraging performance in France last week when they beat Bayonne 26-17.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-91-cents and the euro at 19-rand-80-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-64-cents and Bitcoin trades at 92-thousand-289-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-226-dollars-74-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 62-dollars-36-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….