News 07:00

BULLETIN 7 January 7 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# At least 18 were killed in a crash at Van Reenen’s Pass
# The SACP is not turning back on the decision to contest the local government elections alone
# And Joe Biden bans offshore drilling less than two weeks before Donald Trump takes office

# At least 18 people have been killed in a multiple-vehicle crash involving a truck, minibus, and a light motor vehicle at Van Reenen’s Pass in KwaZulu-Natal last night. According to reports 13 adults and five children are dead while a baby is among the survivors but is in a critical condition. N3 Toll Concession chief operating officer, Thania Dhoogra, says all lanes of the N3 are closed to traffic:

# SACP general-secretary Solly Mapaila says their decision to independently contest the 2026 local elections should not be seen as trying to weaken the ANC and the alliance. He was speaking at the 30th commemoration of the passing of the former SACP general secretary Joe Slovo in Soweto on Monday. The ANC declined to 40-percent in last year’s elections, down from 57-percent in 2019. Mapaila says the SACP exercising its independence, will lead to transformative, working-class-led local governance:

# The EFF says the retrenchments by ArcelorMittal are a testament that the narrative perpetuated by the ANC-DA coalition, which suggests that their coalition is the best for private sector investment and job creation is a self-serving myth. South Africa’s only primary steelmaker, ArcelorMittal SA, has decided to shut its long steel business, with up to three-thousand-500 direct and indirect jobs could be affected in Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal and Vereeniging, Gauteng. The EFF says unemployment levels will continue to sky-rocket under the ANC-DA coalition.

Meanwhile, the metalworkers union Numsa says ArcelorMittal South Africa’s planned job cuts in Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal, and Vereeniging, Gauteng, could devastate the steel and auto industries and harm communities. The company intends to cut 35-percent of its workforce, citing structural challenges in its long steel business. Numsa spokesperson Phakamile Hlubi-Majola vows to fight the retrenchments, urging collaboration to protect manufacturing capacity and prevent economic fallout:

# US President Joe Biden has banned offshore drilling across an immense area of coastal waters, weeks before Donald Trump takes office pledging to massively increase fossil fuel production. The ban encompasses the entire Atlantic coast and eastern Gulf of Mexico, as well as the Pacific coast off California, Oregon, and Washington, and a section of the Bering Sea off Alaska. A White House statement said the declaration protected more than 253 million hectares of water. Trump says he will undo the ban.

# Rugby: Samoa head coach Mahonri Schwalger has stepped down from his position. Ex-Samoa hooker Schwalger had been suspended since September after being charged with sexual misconduct with a person aged under 16. Former Scarlets and Sale front-rower Schwalger had been appointed in April. Rugby Samoa says a search for a new head coach will start with the sport in the country in turmoil. They were forced to withdraw from three Tests in November due to severe financial issues.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-56-cents and the euro at 19-rand-27-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-25-cents and Bitcoin trades at 102-thousand-25-dollar-70-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-640-dollars-56-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 75-dollars-96-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….