News 06:00

BULLETIN 12 December 6 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Minister Lamola calls for an inclusive global governance system
# Over 500 spaza shops in Gauteng are closed for non-compliance
# And Syrian rebel fighters set fire to the tomb of Bashar al-Assad’s father

# Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Ronald Lamola says South Africa calls for efforts to ensure that the global governance system is inclusive and considers the global South’s interests. The minister met with United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres in Pretoria yesterday. Lamola says South Africa hopes through the G20 Presidency the world can move closer to where sustainability, equality, and solidarity guide efforts to address the most pressing challenges people are facing globally:

Meanwhile, UN secretary-general António Guterres has called for global collaboration to address Africa’s challenges as South Africa chairs the G20. Speaking at the G20 Sherpas meeting in Sandton, Johannesburg, Guterres emphasised the G20’s role in combating poverty, hunger, and inequality, highlighting this leadership as a chance to advance Africa’s priorities. He urged institutional reforms to support developing nations and tackle financial injustice:

# The Public Servants Association says the 13.4-percent increase in Government Employees Medical Scheme subscriptions for next year threatens to derail public service wage talks. The PSA warns the hike will reduce take-home pay for many public servants, making medical aid unaffordable and forcing some workers to cancel memberships. The association’s Claude Naiker vows to mobilise unions to fight the increase, accusing GEMS of exploiting its monopoly.

# Gauteng Finance and Economic Development MEC Lebogang Maile says engagements with township commercial property owners have helped to improve the number of spaza shop registrations. A total of 13-thousand-616 registration forms have been issued to local and foreign owners across the province since registration started on the 15th of last month. A total of 541 spaza shops have been closed due to non-compliance. Maile says the registration process has been simplified to ensure that business owners are not consumed in red tape:

# Syrian rebels have set fire to the tomb of ex-president Bashar al-Assad’s father in his former hometown of Hafez al-Assad. Shops are reopening and people are returning to work in Damascus. Workers in the capital told BBC they were hoping for better days as they adapt to life after the fall of Assad’s regime. Meanwhile, Israel confirmed it carried out attacks on Syria’s naval fleet and conducted 350 air strikes as part of its efforts to neutralise military assets in the country.

# Golf: South African Louis Oosthuizen believes he can defend his title at the Alfred Dunhill Championship in Mpumalanga despite strong competition. Among the participants are eight of the last 13 champions in Malelane, including compatriots Charl Schwartzel, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Brandon Stone, and Richard Sterne, as well as Spaniard Pablo Larrazabal. Oosthuizen regards last year’s victory over Schwartzel as one of his best achievements, describing Leopard Creek as a course that had always found a way to bite him. 

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-69-cents and the euro at 18-rand-59-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-58-cents and Bitcoin trades at 101-thousand-347-dollar-10-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-718-dollars-74-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 73-dollars-67-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….