News 08:00

BULLETIN 24 December 8 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The newly appointed US ambassador is to take a pragmatic approach
# Donald Trump’s name appears more in the latest released Epstein-related documents
# And cricket, SA’s Laura Wolvaardt regains her number one spot in the Women’s ODI batting rankings

# The appointment of new US ambassador to South Africa, Brent Bozel, is likely to lead to an ideological clash between the US and the ANC. This is according to Centre for Risk Analysis’s Ofentse Donald Davhie, who says Bozel is likely to take a pragmatic approach. However, Davhie believes this will come with a push for what he describes as the US’s wish list of demands for South Africa. He says these include withdrawing the International Court of Justice case against Israel, exempting US businesses from BEE regulations, and protecting property rights.

# Deputy Ministers David Mahlobo visited the Brits Water Treatment Works in Madibeng, North West, to tackle prolonged delays in its upgrade. Mahlobo says the municipality and Magalies Water were directed to submit an efficiency improvement plan, with further delays not tolerated. He says the upgraded plant will boost treatment capacity from 60 to 80 megalitres per day, benefiting over 75-thousand households and enhancing water reliability:

# Acting Gauteng premier Jacob Mamabolo has praised law enforcement for pursuing suspects linked to the Bekkersdal mass shooting that left ten people dead and ten wounded. During a visit to the area, Mamabolo urged communities to work with police and called for intensified policing and a crackdown on unlicensed taverns. He stressed the importance of upholding the rule of law and assured families of government support:

# The latest batch of Jeffrey Epstein-related documents released by the US Justice Department shows president Donald Trump travelled on the disgraced financier and sex offender’s private jet many more times than previously reported. He was a passenger on at least eight flights between 1993 and 1996, including at least four flights on which Epstein’s associate Ghislaine Maxwell was also present. Trump has consistently denied wrongdoing in relation to Epstein, and his alleged presence on the flights does not indicate wrongdoing.

# Cricket: South Africa captain Laura Wolvaardt has regained her number one ranking in the ICC Women’s ODI batting rankings. This follows the completion of South Africa’s 3-0 ODI series victory against Ireland, in which Wolvaardt scored centuries in the final two matches. India’s Smriti Mandhana is second on the list, followed by Australia’s Ashleigh Gardner. Meanwhile, India’s all-rounder Deepti Sharma tops the T20 bowlers rankings for the first time in her career, on the back of her impressive performance in the opening game of India’s T20 series against Sri Lanka.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-68-cents and the euro at 19-rand-67-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-55-cents and Bitcoin trades at 86-thousand-966-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-484-dollars-77-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 61-dollars-81-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….