News 11:00

BULLETIN 19 December 11 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# South Africa is seeking clarity on US allegations of intimidation and passport leaks
# The Agriculture Department is confident in the national strategy to combat foot and mouth disease
# And soccer: SAFA is set for a major financial boost after Bafana’s World Cup qualification

# The Department of International Relations and Cooperation says South Africa remains committed to principled and transparent diplomacy with the US. Washington has slammed Pretoria for allegedly detaining US officials and publicly releasing passport details after the raid at a refugee facility in Johannesburg, calling it harassment and intimidation. The department’s spokesperson, Chrispin Phiri, says South Africa won’t negotiate on the implementation of the rule of law:

# Minister of Agriculture, John Steenhuisen, says the department’s ministerial advisory task team on animal disease prevention and control is implementing a decisive, fact-driven blueprint for recovery amid the foot and mouth disease outbreak. Currently, FMD remains active in seven provinces, with KwaZulu-Natal regarded as the epicentre of the disease. The department’s spokesperson, Joylene van Wyk, says South Africa now has a technically sound roadmap to realise its goal of FMD-free status:

# Four of the six people, whom Warrick ‘DJ Warras’ Stock had applied for protection orders against, have been taken in for questioning in relation to his murder. This comes after the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department conducted a raid at Zambesi House in the CBD yesterday evening. Mayoral committee member for Public Safety, Mgcini Tshwaku, says this is the eight-storey apartment that Stock had been contracted to secure:

Moving abroad:

# European Union leaders have agreed on a multi-billion-rand funding plan for Ukraine’s military and economic needs for the next two years. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky had warned Kyiv would run out of money in a few months, and without a cash injection, they would be forced to reduce the production of drones. The EU package will be funded for now by borrowing cash and not tapping into frozen Russian assets held in the bloc. EU Council president Antonio Costa says Ukraine will only pay back the loan once Russia pays reparations.

# Soccer: South African governing body SAFA is set to receive a major financial boost after Bafana Bafana qualified for next year’s World Cup in the US, Mexico and Canada. Under FIFA’s expanded prize structure, each qualified nation will receive at least nine-million-rand, plus preparation funding, totalling about 175-million-rand. The milestone marks South Africa’s first World Cup return since 2010, easing SAFA’s financial strain, while players will also receive government bonuses.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-74-cents and the euro at 19-rand-61-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-40-cents and Bitcoin trades at 87-thousand-880-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-325-dollars-49-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 59-dollars-63-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….