News 08:00

BULLETIN 23 December 8 am

Good morning/Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The MK Party rejects the proposed salary hikes for politicians
# Schumer wants to force the US Senate to sue the Trump administration over the Epstein files
# And soccer: Bafana Bafana begin their AFCON campaign with a hard-fought win over Angola

# The MK Party rejects the proposed four-point-one-percent salary increases for public office bearers in 2025/2026. The party’s spokesperson, Nhlamulo Ndhlela, calls the increases “morally indefensible” amid South Africa’s unemployment exceeding 32-percent, youth unemployment near 50-percent, and over 18-million people living in poverty. Ndhlela urges the government to prioritise job creation, social support, and public services over enriching political elites.

# The police is increasing their efforts in a festive season crime crackdown. Police spokesperson Vincent Mukhathi says SAPS arrested almost 21-thousand suspects nationwide; this includes two-thousand for driving under the influence, one-thousand for illegal liquor trade, and 158 for murder. Mukhathi says they also seized 49-thousand litres of alcohol and 156 firearms:

# The Gauteng Education Department says only five-thousand-464 learners remain unplaced as part of the 2026 online admissions for Grade 1 and Grade 8. This is because the department is releasing placement and transfer offers daily, with a specific focus on identified high-pressure areas where demand exceeds available capacity. The department’s spokesperson, Steve Mabona, says the system also recorded a total of seven-thousand-118 Grade 1 and Grade 8 late applications:

# Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer says he is introducing a resolution to force the Senate to initiate legal action against the Justice Department. This is for refusing to release the complete files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The department released only a fraction of the Epstein files covered by the new disclosure law last Friday, citing the need to review documents to protect victims. Schumer says the American people deserve full transparency, and this administration cannot be allowed to hide the truth.

# Soccer: Bafana Bafana got their Africa Cup of Nations campaign off to a winning start, beating Angola 2-1 in an entertaining Group B match at the Marrakesh Stadium. Goals from Oswin Appollis and Lyle Foster secured the victory for South Africa. Meanwhile, seven-time champions Egypt beat Zimbabwe 2-1 while Mali and Zambia played to a 1-1 draw. Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos says their performance could have been better:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-69-cents and the euro at 19-rand-66-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-51-cents and Bitcoin trades at 87-thousand-941-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-490-dollars-17-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 61-dollars-52-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….