News 09:00

BULLETIN 5 December 9 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The FF Plus says America’s patience with South Africa has reached a breaking point
# Minister Mantashe says gold mining continues to anchor South Africa’s economy
# And the DA warns Johannesburg is falling apart after the G20 summit

# The Freedom Front Plus says America’s judgment of South Africa is no longer mere diplomatic sparring; it is the condemnation of a government that has tested the patience of the world’s superpower to the limit. This follows US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s statement, where he criticised South Africa’s G20 Presidency and accused the government of having an appetite for racism and tolerance for violence against Afrikaners. FF Plus leader Corne Mulder says the ANC has to abandon its radical approach or South Africa will increasingly be marginalised.

# Minister of Mineral and Petroleum Resources, Gwede Mantashe, says gold mining continues to anchor South Africa’s economy and provide much-needed jobs to citizens. The minister opened the Qala Shallows Gold Mine in Roodepoort, Gauteng, yesterday. Mantashe says the launch of mine demonstrates the government’s continued commitment to building an enabling environment for responsible mining, encouraging investment, and strengthening socio-economic development in the mining sector:

# The DA says Johannesburg is falling apart following the G20 summit, with ongoing power outages and water leaks leaving residents to fend for themselves. The party accuses the ANC-led city government of neglecting basic governance to focus on political events. The DA’s Belinda Kayser-Echeozonjoku says they will use all constitutional means to hold the ANC accountable:

# The US military carried out another deadly strike on a boat suspected of carrying illegal narcotics, killing four men in the eastern Pacific. The strike comes as the Pentagon is facing criticism over a September attack on an alleged drug vessel in which the military fired follow-up strikes, killing two people. Since September, the military has conducted 22 strikes on boats suspected of carrying drugs and killed at least 87 people. The US Southern Command says the latest strike was on a vessel operated by a designated terrorist organisation.

# Motorsport: Lando Norris says he would be hesitant to ask McLaren to impose a team order for Oscar Piastri to help him win his maiden Formula 1 drivers’ championship at the season finale in Abu Dhabi on Sunday. Norris leads Red Bull’s Max Verstappen by 12 points and teammate Piastri by 16 points. The Briton only needs a podium finish to become world champion. Norris says it will be up to the team to impose an order on Piastri:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-97-cents and the euro at 19-rand-77-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-63-cents and Bitcoin trades at 92-thousand-228-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-212-dollars-40-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 62-dollars-97-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….