News 11:00

BULLETIN 17 December 11 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# SAFTU condemns the appointment of McKinsey and Bains
# The Lebombo border post is operating smoothly
# And a judge rejects Trump’s bid to have his hush money conviction dismissed

# The South African Federation of Trade Unions demands that all contracts with disgraced McKinsey, and Bain and Company, and any other corrupt consultancy be cancelled. McKinsey was appointed as a supporting partner to the B20, a business engagement group that meets on the sidelines of the G20 summit. Bain was appointed by the Energy Council of South Africa to run its project management office. Saftu’s, Mogoshadi Maserumule, says government cannot work with companies that attempt to collapse the country:

# The South African National Taxi Council says it is disturbed by the continued loss of life on the country’s roads, despite intensified efforts to promote road safety. This follows the death of 15 people in an accident between an SUV and a minibus taxi on the N9 just outside Graaf Reinet, Eastern Cape, yesterday. Santaco’s national spokesperson, Mmatshikhidi Rebecca Phala, says the relevant authorities need to intensify their efforts to ensure road safety, and to hold accountable those who flout road safety regulations:

# The Border Management Authority says operations at the Lebombo port of entry are running smoothly as holiday movements increase. The border experienced disruptions in recent weeks caused by protests linked to Mozambique’s recent elections. This led to extensive queues of trucks on the South African side, creating significant traffic congestion. BMA’s Mmemme Mogotsi says the processing of cargo on both arrival and departure is continuing as normal:

# A New York judge has rejected president-elect Donald Trump’s bid to have his hush money conviction dismissed based on the Supreme Court’s recent ruling on presidential immunity. In May, Trump was found guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records. In July, the Supreme Court ruled that presidents have broad immunity from criminal prosecution for official actions they take while in office. Judge Juan Merchan says the evidence presented by the Manhattan district attorney’s office was not related to Trump’s official conduct as president.

# Cricket: New Zealand thumped England by 423 runs on day four of the third and final Test in Hamilton, to equal their biggest Test victory by the margin of runs. The visitors were set a target of 658, and despite Jacob Bethell scoring 76, England were bowled out for 234 with Mitchell Santner taking four wickets in the second innings. This was also Tim Southee’s final Test match and he heads into retirement having claimed 391 wickets for the Blackcaps. England won the series two-one.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-85-cents and the euro at 18-rand-74-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-65-cents and Bitcoin trades at 106-thousand-464-dollars-9-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-648-dollars-3-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 74-dollars-10-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….