News 08:00

BULLETIN 19 December 8 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# South Africa reaffirms its sovereign immigration enforcement
# The Pretoria High School for Girls’ leave to appeal is dismissed
# And a former NASCAR driver and his family are among the seven fatalities of a plane crash

# The Department of International Relations and Cooperation says government will not negotiate its sovereignty and the implementation of the rule of law. This comes after the US accused South African authorities of detaining US officials performing their duties to provide humanitarian support to Afrikaners. This follows a raid at a refugee processing centre in Johannesburg, which led to the arrest of seven Kenyan nationals working illegally for a US-affiliated organisation. Dirco spokesperson, Chrispin Phiri, says they also note the unsubstantiated allegation regarding the release of private information of US officials:

# Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs deputy minister, Prince Zolile Burns-Ncamashe, has criticised illegal initiation schools following a rise in the deaths of initiates during the summer initiation period. In the Eastern Cape alone, 18 initiates have died so far, while police have opened 45 criminal cases and arrested 31 people for unlawful circumcision and breaking initiation laws. Burns-Ncamashe says the deaths can be largely attributed to high levels of negligence, particularly on the part of the parents and traditional leaders.

# The Pretoria High School for Girls school governing body’s attempt to appeal a ruling that denied it access to a 2024 report into allegations of racism at the school has been dismissed. The Gauteng Education Department commissioned the report in the wake of allegations previously labelled as racial microaggressions in a whites-only WhatsApp group of pupils. The Gauteng High Court also rejected claims that the SGB’s review application could not proceed without the report, stating that there were other legal avenues to obtain the documents.

# Former NASCAR driver Greg Biffle, together with his wife and two children, are among the seven people killed in a plane crash in North Carolina. The Cessna C550 crashed while landing at Statesville Regional Airport and erupted into a large fire. Others on the plane were identified as Dennis Dutton, his son Jack, and Craig Wadsworth. Flight records indicate that the aircraft was registered to a company owned by Biffle. North Carolina Highway Patrol’s Chris Knox says an investigation is underway:

# Rugby: United Rugby Championship action returns to Kings Park in Durban tomorrow when the Sharks host the Bulls in a local derby. Sharks head coach JP Pietersen has largely stuck with the same team that defeated the Saracens last week. Jordan Hendrikse takes over from George Whitehead at flyhalf, and fullback Hakeem Kunene replaces Aphelele Fassi, who suffered a concussion. The Sharks go into the match with a morale-boosting 28-23 victory, while the Bulls lost their last two Champions Cup encounters against Bordeaux and Northampton. Kick-off is at 6 pm.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-74-cents and the euro at 19-rand-62-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-38-cents and Bitcoin trades at 86-thousand-797-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-319-dollars-13-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 59-dollars-33-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….