News 07:00

BULLETIN 28 January 7 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# MK Party accuses the SABC of being influenced by the ANC
# SA Weather Service hit by suspected cyber-attack
# And, King Charles becomes the first British monarch to visit Auschwitz

# Lawyer representing former president Jacob Zuma and the MK Party, Dali Mpofu, argued that the SABC’s use of the term government of national unity promotes the political objectives of the coalition government. On Monday, the High Court in Johannesburg heard Zuma and MK’s challenge against the SABC over its use of the term GNU. Mpofu suggested the SABC is dancing to the tune of the ANC. Meanwhile, the SABC’s advocate, Terry Motau, told the court that the public broadcaster had not broken any editorial rules:

# South Africa’s Trade and Industry minister, Parks Tau, has dismissed claims of new taxes to fund a proposed black-owned business initiative. Speaking at an ANC strategy meeting in Johannesburg, Tau clarified the fund is still in conceptual stages and will utilise existing mechanisms, such as equity-equivalent and enterprise development funding. Tau emphasised that the initiative aligns with ongoing efforts to promote economic transformation without imposing additional financial burdens.

# The South African Weather Service has confirmed that it suffered a suspected criminal cyber-attack on Sunday, disrupting aviation, marine, email, and website services. Spokesperson Oupa Segalwe says alternative channels, including social media, are providing updates as Information and Communication Technology teams are investigating and working to restore systems. He confirmed that SAWS has reported the breach, marking the second attempted attack within two days:

# The IFP says the decision by the South African Reserve Bank Prudential Authority to file for the liquidation of Ithala Bank is ill-advised and a travesty of justice and access for people. The authority stated that the Repayment Administrator it appointed in December 2023 had established that Ithala was technically and legally insolvent. IFP president, Velenkosini Hlabisa, says they will stage a two-day protest outside the Pietermaritzburg High Court in KwaZulu-Natal today and on Thursday, vowing that the party will stop at nothing to defend the bank.

# King Charles The Third has urged the world to remember the depths to which humanity can sink, as he became the first British monarch to visit Auschwitz. Monday marked Holocaust Memorial Day and the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Nazi Germany’s Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. Approximately 1,1-million people were murdered in the concentration camp from 1940 to 1945, many of them Jews. The King called the day a sombre and indeed a sacred moment:

# Tennis: World number three Carlos Alcaraz of Spain is the top seed in the Rotterdam Open in the Netherlands after defending champion Jannik Sinner’s withdrawal. The Italian, who is on top of the world rankings, decided to take a rest after retaining his Australian Open crown this weekend. World number 11, Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria, will also not play. Alcaraz will come up against a strong field, including Holger Rune of Denmark, veteran Swiss player Stan Wawrinka, Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime, and home favourite Tallon Griekspoor.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-83-cents and the euro at 19-rand-64-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-42-cents and Bitcoin trades at 101-thousand-685-dollars. Gold sells at two-thousand-740-dollars-42-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 76-dollars-26-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….