News 12:00

BULLETIN 19 December 12 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Johannesburg’s mayor says cleaning up the CBD remains a top priority after Stock’s murder
# Operations at the Sendelingsdrift port of entry have been temporarily suspended
# And soccer: SAFA is set for a major financial boost after Bafana’s World Cup qualification

# Johannesburg mayor Dada Morero says cleaning up the city’s CBD remains a top priority amid concerns about decay and high crime levels. His comments follow the death of media personality Warrick Stock near Carlton Centre earlier this week. Morero visited the family. His spokesperson, Khathutshelo Mulaudzi, says he recommitted to implementing measures to address crime and law enforcement challenges, highlighting that crime prevention is a key focus:

 # The Border Management Authority says operations at the Sendelingsdrift port of entry between the Northern Cape and Namibia have been temporarily suspended. This is due to increased water levels resulting from persistent rainfall. The authority’s spokesperson, Mmemme Mogotsi, says the South African Weather Services has announced above-normal summer rainfall to the north-eastern parts of South Africa:

# The City of Cape Town will once again use technology to support law enforcement around Table Mountain, the city centre, the Bo-Kaap, and key beaches during the festive season. Mayoral committee member for Safety and Security, JP Smith, says more than 200 municipal peace officials have been deployed, assisted by the Technology Fusion Centre, safety drones, and CCTV. Smith says there will also be daily patrols in gang-affected communities:

Moving abroad:

# US authorities have identified the suspect in Saturday’s mass shooting at Brown University as Portuguese national Claudio Manuel Neves-Valente. The 48-year-old was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in a New Hampshire storage facility. The shooting left two students dead and nine injured. US attorney for Massachusetts, Leah Foley, says Valente was also responsible for the killing of professor Nuno Loureiro in Massachusetts, days after the attack:

# Soccer: South African governing body SAFA is set to receive a major financial boost after Bafana Bafana qualified for next year’s World Cup in the US, Mexico and Canada. Under FIFA’s expanded prize structure, each qualified nation will receive at least nine-million-rand, plus preparation funding, totalling about 175-million-rand. The milestone marks South Africa’s first World Cup return since 2010, easing SAFA’s financial strain, while players will also receive government bonuses.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-75-cents and the euro at 19-rand-62-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-40-cents and Bitcoin trades at 87-thousand-946-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-324-dollars-95-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 59-dollars-49-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….