News 13:00

BULLETIN 25 January 1 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Donald Trump as well as the  Democrats harden their stances after another Minneapolis shooting
# The Young Intelligent Minds of South Africa criticises how government responds to national disasters 
# And, the International Cricket Council withdraws Bangladesh from the Men’s T20 World Cup

# Just hours after federal agents shot and killed a 37-year-old man in Minneapolis, Trump administration officials called the deceased a “would-be assassin” and blamed Democrats for siding with “terrorists.” Democrats, meanwhile, renewed calls for Minnesota officials to investigate the shooting and characterised the president’s immigration actions as “a campaign of organised brutality.” The White House and Democrats retreated to heated rhetoric in the immediate aftermath of Saturday’s incident. Trump, in a post on Truth Social, described the man who was shot Saturday as a “gunman” and suggested a cover-up by Minnesota Democrats. 

 # Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs minister, Velenkosini Hlabisa says funding of some non-performing municipalities were not halted to avoid a complete collapse in service delivery. Hlabisa says as at December 2025, there were 220 Conditional Municipal Infrastructure Grant-receiving municipalities. He says of these, 174 municipalities received allocations below 100-million-rand , while 46 received allocations above 100-million-rand. He adds the provinces with the highest proportion of municipalities below this threshold were the Northern Cape with 28-percent and the Free State with 32-percent.

# The Young Intelligent Minds of South Africa is deeply concerned about government respond to national disaster stricken areas in KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga and Limpopo provinces. YIMOSA Founder Jeffrey Mabunda says they are surprised that every minister wants to go to the areas without tools of trade to bring immediate relief to those affected by the disaster. He says flood victims in KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape who were affected two years ago remains in dire need of houses:

# The Forum for South Africa has expressed serious concern over the prolonged delays in the pre-sentencing process of the EFF leader Julius Malema’s assault rifle case. The East London Magistrate’s Court in the Eastern Cape has postponed the pre-sentencing to April. FOSA leader Tebogo Mashilompane says repeated postponements are placing an unnecessary burden on taxpayers and raise serious questions about the efficiency and fairness of the justice system:

# Limpopo Department of Co-operative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs continue to call on communities to keep safe by avoiding swimming and unnecessary traveling when it rains and not to cross swollen streams. This follows several drowning incidents that claimed the lives of seven people, including three boys – two aged seven and one aged 16 – in Marulaneng village and Luckau over the weekend. The department’s spokesperson Tsakani Baloyi says two missing bodies have been discovered:

# And finally, Cricket: Bangladesh has been withdrawn from the Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 by the International Cricket Council after refusing to play matches in co-host India due to ongoing security and political concerns. The Bangladesh Cricket Board requested a change of venue to Sri Lanka, but the ICC denied this, finding no “credible or verifiable security threat.” After the BCB missed a 24-hour deadline to confirm their participation, the ICC replaced them with Scotland in Group C. The BCB now faces substantial financial penalties, including a potential 32-million-rand and the loss of up to 432-million-rand in tournament revenue share.

Stay tuned for more news………….