News 06:00

BULLETIN 9 December 6 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# John Steenhuisen warns the firing of any DA ministers will signal the end of the government of national unity
# International leaders welcome the fall of the Assad regime in Syria
# And rugby: The Blitzboks are crowned champions of Cape Town yet again

# The DA says it rejects any attempt by a faction of the ANC to influence president Cyril Ramaphosa to fire Basic Education minister Siviwe Gwarube, or any other DA minister, for doing their jobs. The party was reacting to a Sunday Times report that Ramaphosa was under intense pressure from within the ANC to dismiss Gwarube, after weeks of tension over the Basic Education Laws Amendment Act. DA leader, John Steenhuisen, says that firing Gwarube would signal an end to the government of national unity:

# The MK Party says its decision to abstain in the vote on the Special Appropriation Bill in the National Assembly is rooted in principle. The MK Party’s Sipho Tyira says while the Bill included a tokenistic 100-million-rand allocation ostensibly for the International Court of Justice to address Israeli crimes against Palestinians, the party could not in good conscience support a broader appropriation that fundamentally serves the agenda of white monopoly capitalists:

# The Border Management Authority says its operations at the Beitbridge and Lebombo Ports of Entry over the weekend have resulted in significant breakthroughs in disrupting illegal activities, including human and child smuggling. The Authority’s spokesperson, Mmemme Mogotsi says on Friday vigilant border guards intercepted a minibus taxi attempting to smuggle 14 undocumented children between the ages of 14 and 16 from Mozambique into South Africa, through the Lebombo port of entry:

# WaterCAN says every day there are more stories of water chaos and desperate communities, both in Johannesburg and across the country. WaterCAN’s Ferrial Adam is calling on the city to urgently find solutions for the water crisis. She says the same dedication and resources being used to disconnect people should be redirected towards auditing government buildings for leaks, waste, and non-billing of water:

# Several world leaders have welcomed the news that Syrian president Bashar al-Assad’s nearly 25-year rule has ended. This comes after rebels swept into the capital Damascus, declaring the city liberated. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu says this collapse is the direct result of his country’s forceful action against Hezbollah and Iran. UK prime minister Keir Starmer says he welcomes the fall of al-Assad’s barbaric regime and has called for peace and stability in the country. Ukraine’s Foreign minister Andriy Sybiga calls for a peaceful rather than military transition.

# Rugby: The Blitzboks defeated France 26-14 to win the Cape Town Sevens, their first home title success since 2015. The hosts bagged four tries through Donovan Don, Zain Davids, Shilton van Wyk, and David Brits. Fiji won the bronze medal after they beat Spain by 47-10 in the third-place playoff, in a repeat of last weekend’s final in Dubai. In the women’s competition, New Zealand were crowned champions after beating the USA in the final, by 26-12, and France took the bronze medal after defeating Australia by 17-14.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-3-cents and the euro at 19-rand-7-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-99-cents and Bitcoin trades at 100-thousand-505-dollar-15-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-633-dollars-30-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 71-dollars a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….