News 11:00

BULLETIN 27 December 11 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# AZAPO calls upon Sadec to intervene in the unrest in Mozambique
# NUM expresses serious concern about retrenchments in the mining sector
# And tennis: Novak Djokovic eyes more Slam glory

# The Azanian People’s Organisation is deeply concerned about the volatile situation in Mozambique and calls upon the fifteen members of the Southern African Development Community to intervene and help curb the violence. Violent protests flared up in the country following Monday’s pronouncement by the highest court on the disputed elections results. Spokesperson Jabu Rakwena says Sadec just wrapped up a mission against insurgency in the Cabo Delgado region:

# The National Union of Mineworkers is seriously concerned about retrenchments in the mining sector in particular; almost across all the mining houses. NUM’s Livhuwani Mammburu says as the end of the year is approaching the union has received fresh 189A notices from several companies. He says workers are facing a black festive season and a bleak future going into the New Year:

# The Department of Health has announced that more than one-thousand-360 babies have been safely delivered at the health facilities across the country on Christmas day. The department’s spokesperson, Foster Mohale says this translates to about 300 less compared to one-thousand-708 babies delivered last year and about 50 less than in 2022. Mohale says the number of teen mothers has also decreased from 145 in 2023 to just under 90:

# The bald eagle is now officially the national bird of the US, after president Joe Biden signed a law bestowing the honour upon the white-headed and yellow-beaked bird of prey. The bird has been a national emblem in the US for years. It has appeared on the Great Seal of the US used on official documents since 1782. The Bald Eagle Bill was one of 50 pieces of legislation that Biden signed into law this week, including a federal anti-hazing law to tackle violence and deaths on university campuses.

# Tennis: Novak Djokovic is confident he can still win Grand Slam tournaments, starting at the Australian Open. The Serbian is kickstarting his bid for an unprecedented eleventh title and record 25th major crown when he plays in Brisbane this week. It is the first season since 37-year-old Djokovic began playing that none of the other so-called Big Three will be on the other side of the net. He says his body is still serving him well. He needs one more Grand Slam title to surpass Margaret Court’s 24.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-63-cents and the euro at 19-rand-39-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-33-cents and Bitcoin trades at 95-thousand-52-dollars. Gold sells at two-thousand-637-dollars-19-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 72-dollars-82-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….