News 06:00

BULLETIN 6 December 6 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Cabinet commends positive economic developments
# The DA urges a quick resolution of the South African Airways strike
# And cricket: Ryan Rickelton puts the Proteas in a solid position in the second Test against Sri Lanka

# Cabinet has commended several positive economic developments, including creating 294-thousand jobs in the third quarter, which lowered the unemployment rate to 32.1-percent. Despite a slight gross domestic product decline of 0.3-percent, Cabinet welcomed positive outlooks from the International Monetary Fund and credit rating agency S&P. Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni praised Saudi Arabia’s 9.5-billion-rand investment in platinum smelting and South African Airways’ return to profitability:

# The South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry has highlighted the need for deeper solutions following the gross domestic product figures showing declining economic performance. While acknowledging progress through initiatives like Operation Vulindlela, SACCI CEO Alan Mukoki stressed these efforts fall short of addressing unemployment, inequality, and poverty. Mukoki has called for a holistic review and emphasised that collaboration is crucial for sustainable economic recovery:

# The DA says the ongoing South African Airways pilot strike must be urgently resolved to prevent damage to the tourism season. The party warns disruptions during the peak period could result in millions of rands in lost revenue, as SAA typically carries hundreds of thousands of passengers in December. The DA’s Haseena Ismail urges SAA to find a resolution to the strike as soon as possible to protect the economy and tourism sector:

# City of Johannesburg council speaker Nobuhle Mthembu, has expressed concern over the impact of the ruling by the High Court in Johannesburg that declared the appointment of city manager Floyd Brink as unlawful. With Johannesburg facing a severe water crisis and widespread dissatisfaction from residents over service delivery, Mthembu emphasised the urgent need for leadership stability. She calls for a swift resolution to the matter to avoid further disruption and ensure that the city’s leadership is capable of addressing the pressing needs of the community.

# New York police say three shell casings from bullets found at the scene of the fatal shooting of US insurance company UnitedHealthcare CEO, Brian Thompson, had the words deny, defend, and depose. The 50-year-old was shot and killed in midtown Manhattan on Wednesday, in what police have called a targeted attack. According to reports, police are exploring whether the words on the bullet casings indicate a motive, pointing to a popular phrase in the insurance industry. The suspect is still at large.

# Cricket: Ryan Rickelton put on a brilliant batting performance as South Africa ended on 269 for seven, in their first innings at stumps on day one of the second Test against Sri Lanka in Gqeberha. Rickelton, who is in for the injured Wiaan Mulder, scored 101 off 250 balls, his maiden century. He had two main partnerships, 133 with captain Temba Bavuma and 77 with Kyle Verreynne. Lahiru Kumara claimed three wickets for Sri Lanka. The Proteas won the first Test by 233 runs in Durban last week.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-2-cents and the euro at 19-rand-7-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-99-cents and Bitcoin trades at 96-thousand-908-dollar-49-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-633-dollars-77-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 72-dollars-14-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….