News 13:00

BULLETIN 23 December 1 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Minister Blade Nzimande welcomes SIU probe into vaccine projects
# ActionSA calls for swift justice in the DJ Warras’ murder case
# And, the return of 17 South Africans lured to Russia allegedly stalled by demands for money

# Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Blade Nzimande, has welcomed the Special Investigating Unit’s probe into procurement and contracting processes linked to four vaccine research projects. The projects include developing a National Vaccine Manufacturing Strategy, finalising an overarching vaccine development strategy, and initiatives related to a Virus-Like Particles platform. The department’s spokesperson, Veli Mbele, says the SIU will examine whether the contracts were conducted in a manner that was fair, competitive and transparent:

# ActionSA has welcomed the arrest of two suspects linked to the assassination of DJ Warras in Johannesburg’s CBD and commended the South African Police Service for their swift work. The party’s Dereleen James calls for the suspects to face the full force of the law, with no parole. She says law-abiding citizens must stand against criminality and justice must be served without delay:

# The N3 Toll Concession says that since the start of the holidays, consistently busy traffic conditions have been experienced on the N3 Toll Route in Mpumalanga, Free State, Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal. At peak times, traffic volumes of around 13-thousand vehicles per day have been recorded at the busiest toll plazas, Mooi and De Hoek. N3 Toll Concession’s Thania Dhoogra says traffic volumes are expected to continue in the next few days, particularly in a southbound direction:

# The repatriation of 17 young South African men lured to Russia to fight the war in Ukraine is allegedly being stalled by demands for money from the military contractors involved in their recruitment. According to News24, the contractors working for the Russian army are demanding a refund for the money paid to the MK Party and some of the families of the men for sending them to Moscow. The MK Party’s spokesperson, Nhlamulo Ndhlela, says they are not aware of any request to the party to repay any money.

# Motorsport: Four-time Formula One champion, Max Verstappen, says various factors would come into play if he were to ever consider making a move away from Red Bull in the future. There was speculation linking the 28-year-old Dutchman to a possible move to Mercedes despite being contracted to Red Bull through to the end of 2028. In an interview with BBC Sport, Verstappen says that if he were to ever move to another team, it would only be because he needs a faster car or a different environment. 

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-67-cents and the euro at 19-rand-65-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-53-cents and Bitcoin trades at 87-thousand-515-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-481-dollars-82-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 61-dollars-59-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….