News 09:00

BULLETIN 14 January 9 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Ronald Lamola says South Africa and the United Arab Emirates have committed to 10-million-rand investment
# Former national police commissioner Phahlane will appear before Parliament’s ad hoc committee today
# And, schools in parts of Limpopo won’t reopen due to severe flooding

# Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ronald Lamola, says South Africa has been able to strengthen bilateral relations with the United Arab Emirates on issues including trade, energy and telecommunication. He was part of the delegation that accompanied president Cyril Ramaphosa on a two-day working visit to the UAE. Lamola says the two countries have agreed on including ten-billion-rand investment that has to be unlocked through agreements that are still under negotiations:

# National Treasury has welcomed the removal of South Africa alongside five other African countries from the European Union’s list of High-risk third-country jurisdictions. This follows the country’s delisting from the Financial Action Task Force’s grey list, an intergovernmental organisation focused on anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism. Treasury says, despite South Africa being removed from the two lists, much work still needs to be done to strengthen deficiencies in the prevention, identification, investigation, and prosecution of money laundering and terrorism financing.

# Former National Police Commissioner, Khomotso Phahlane, is today set to appear before Parliament’s ad hoc committee established to investigate allegations of corruption and political interference in the criminal justice system. In his affidavit before the committee, Phahlane talks about his time as national police commissioner, including stating the former Police minister Fikile Mbalula had no authority to order him to step aside from his position in 2017. The committee is operating under its second and final extension, which expires on 20 February.

# The Limpopo Education Department says schools in the Vhembe and Mopani Districts will not reopen today, due to severe weather conditions that have caused widespread flooding. A level 9 weather warning has been issued by the South African Weather Service for today. The department’s spokesperson, Mike Maringa, says the flooding has disrupted food delivery to schools and is likely to affect scholar transport, particularly for learners who travel long distances:

# Soccer: Former player Michael Carrick has been appointed as Manchester United’s caretaker head coach until the end of the season. This follows the departure of Ruben Amorim on January 5 after 14 months in charge. Forty-four-year-old Carrick had a three-game stint as United’s temporary boss after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s dismissal in 2021. Carrick, whose first game in charge is against Manchester City on Saturday, says having the responsibility to lead United is an honour:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-35-cents and the euro at 19-rand-4-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-98-cents and Bitcoin trades at 95-thousand-451-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-629-dollars-61-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 64-dollars-80-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….