News 11:00

BULLETIN 22 December 11 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Forum for South Africa questions the promotion of over nine-thousand police officers to higher ranks 
# The Borders Bus Association urges bus operators not to breach safety regulations
# And tennis, the American Learner Tien is the Next Gen ATP Finals champion

# Forum for South Africa says the promotion of nine-thousand-548 police officers to higher ranks alone does not fix the broken policing system, plagued by corruption, political interference and poor leadership. The promotions target officers who have spent ten years or more in their current rank. FOSA leader, Tebogo Mashilompane, says there is no public clarity on whether the promoted officers were comprehensively vetted:

# The African Unite Borders Bus Trucks Association is urging bus operators not to breach safety regulations and undermine South Africa’s law enforcement. A bus travelling from KwaZulu-Natal to Zimbabwe was intercepted at Zebediela Weighbridge in Limpopo yesterday. The bus was certified to carry 63 passengers but had 82 occupants. The association’s chairperson, Mukhwathi Phumudzo, says this is a clear breach of safety regulations:

# ActionSA has criticised the cost of Health minister Aaron Motsoaledi’s four international trips between June and September this year. In a parliamentary reply, the minister revealed that the trips cost taxpayers 5.6-million-rand. This brings his travel costs since the formation of the government of national unity in July last year to around 11.8-million-rand. In June, he attended the BRICS Health Summit in Brazil, followed by his participation in the Global Health Senior Leaders Dialogue in London, and the third trip was the WHO Regional Committee for Africa in Zambia.

# US president Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, says he held productive and constructive talks with Ukrainian and European representatives in Miami over the weekend. The meeting focused on aligning positions on the 20-point plan, a multilateral security guarantee framework, a US Security guarantee framework for Ukraine, and an economic and prosperity plan. Witkoff says peace must be not only a cessation of hostilities, but also a dignified foundation for a stable future for Ukraine.

# Tennis: American Learner Tien secured his second career title by winning the Next Gen ATP Finals in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The 20-year-old defeated Belgian Alexander Blockx, 4-3, 4-2, 4-1, avenging his runner-up finish at the event a year ago. Tien is just the third top seed to capture the title, following in the footsteps of Stefanos Tsitsipas and Carlos Alcaraz. He says he is happy he was able to go one step better this year:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-70-cents and the euro at 19-rand-58-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-39-cents and Bitcoin trades at 89-thousand-and-7-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-415-dollars-64-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 60-dollars-74-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….