News 11:00

BULLETIN 19 January 11 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The African Transformation Movement says it’s a concern that so many learners do not complete their school careers
# Israel’s prime minister dismisses the idea of creating a Palestinian state
# And tennis, Stefanos Tsitsipas sets a fourth-round showdown against Taylor Fritz at the Australian Open

# The African Transformation Movement says it notes the 2.8 percentage points increase in the matric pass rate of the class of 2023, however, the true value of the improvement is watered down by the expanded definition of these results from the perspective of enrollment. The matric class obtained an 82.9-percent pass rate, which is up from 80.1-percent in 2022. ATM’s national spokesperson, Zama Tshona, says reports show that around 1.2-million students were enrolled in 2012 and only 572-thousand-983 passed, which constitutes 52-percent of the original number:

Meanwhile Free State premier Mxolisi Dukwana says the remarkable 2023 matric results not only showcase the individual brilliance of learners but also reflect the collective commitment to excellence ingrained in the province’s education system. The province has emerged as the best-performing province in the country with a matric pass rate of 89-percent, an increase of 0.5-percentage points from 2022. Education MEC Makalo Mohale says he is proud that the province has been able to maintain its number one spot:

# Eastern Cape police have confirmed that the case against eleven suspects arrested for taxi violence in Port St Johns was not enrolled in court, due to insufficient evidence, and the suspects have subsequently been released. Three people were killed and six injured when two taxi associations engaged in a shootout at the local taxi rank on Tuesday. Police spokesperson, Siphokazi Mawisa, says the suspects faced charges including murder, attempted murder and discharging of firearms in a built-up municipality area:

# Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu remains opposed to the establishment of a Palestinian state as part of a postwar scenario, saying this would clash with his country’s security. The US and Australia maintain a two-state solution is the only feasible way to bring lasting peace to the region. Netanyahu says Israel must have security control over all land west of the River Jordan, which would include the territory of any future Palestinian state. In response, the White House says the American government will not stop working towards a two-state solution.

# Tennis: Last year’s runner-up, Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas, has set up a mouth-watering fourth-round clash against American Taylor Fritz at the Australian Open. Tsitsipas defeated France’s Luca Van Assche, while Fritz came from a set down to beat Hungarian Fabian Marozsan. Italian Jannik Sinner earned his third straight-sets victory against Argentine’s Sebastian Baez to make the round of 16 for the third consecutive year. In the women’s draw, defending champion Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus eased passed Ukraine’s Lesia Tsurenko, 6-love, 6-love.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-93-cents and the euro at 20-rand-60-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-1-cent and Bitcoin trades at 41-thousand-452-dollars-17-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-and-24-dollars-70-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 79-dollars-11-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….