News 09:00

BULLETIN 30 December 9 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Information Regulator approaches the Supreme Court over the publication of matric results
# Aware.org warns parents against underage drinking
# And, the body of a SANDF member is found in Komatipoort

# The Information Regulator has approached the Supreme Court of Appeal to challenge the Gauteng High Court ruling on the publication of the matric results. On December 12, the court dismissed the regulator’s application to block the publication of the matric results, finding that its arguments were frivolous and lacked empirical evidence. In its application to the SCA, the Information Regulator argues that the High Court introduced a new concept in the interpretation and application of the Protection of Personal Information Act, which is not provided for in the legislation.

# The Association for Alcohol Responsibility and Education has cautioned parents against enabling underage drinking. Aware.org CEO Mokebe Thulo was responding to a viral video showing children aged between six and twelve allegedly consuming alcohol in the Eastern Cape. Speaking to Newzroom Afrika, Thulo described the incident as unacceptable and a serious threat to children’s health and wellbeing. She stressed that underage drinking is a recurring social problem:

# The remains believed to be those of the missing South African National Defence Force member have been found on the borderline of Mozambique and South Africa in Komatipoort, Mpumalanga. The discovery follows an incident on Christmas Day where two SANDF members were swept away by floodwaters in the Nkomati River. One body was recovered the day after Christmas. Mpumalanga police spokesperson, Donald Mdhluli, says the remains were discovered by a fisherman in a remote section of the river:

# US president Donald Trump has warned Hamas to disarm quickly, or there will be hell to pay. He met with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Florida on Monday. The two leaders failed to reach an agreement on moving to the second phase of the US-brokered peace plan for Gaza. Trump downplayed the lack of progress, insisting that he was not concerned about Israel’s actions in the region:

# Boxing: Two-time world heavyweight champion, Anthony Joshua, is in a stable condition after he was injured in a car crash in Nigeria that killed two people. The Briton was a passenger in a vehicle that collided with a stationary truck on a major expressway in Ogun State, near Lagos. The deceased are Joshua’s close friends and team members, Sina Ghami and Latif “Latz” Ayodele. Joshua, who has Nigerian heritage, was spending time in the country following his sixth-round knockout win against Jake Paul in Miami earlier this month.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-66-cents and the euro at 19-rand-62-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-51-cents and Bitcoin trades at 87-thousand-218-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-360-dollars-21-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 61-dollars-41-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….