News 14:00

BULLETIN 17 December 2 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Border Management Authority notes a significant increase in traveller movements at ports of entry
# More than 15-thousand suspects have been arrested during nationwide Shanela Operations
# And tennis: Djokovic teams up with Kyrgios for the Brisbane tournament

# The Border Management Authority has noted the significant increase in traveller movements across all ports of entry as the peak holiday season begins. This surge has resulted in long queues, especially at OR Tambo International Airport, one of South Africa’s busiest entry and exit points. BMA’s, Mmemme Mogotsi, says they remain committed to maintaining its current level of service, continuously monitoring operations, and staying prepared for potential challenges:

# A total of 15-thousand-871 suspects were arrested for various offences during nationwide Operations Shanela last week. Police spokesperson Vincent Mukhathi says through Operation Shanela, the police continues to take a bold and decisive approach in dealing with crime in the country. He says these crime fighting activities include tracking operations, roadblocks, high visibility patrols, stop and searches, as well as this tracing of wanted suspects:

# The DA has labelled the Gauteng cancer crisis a scandal comparable to Life Esidimeni. DA Health spokesperson, Jack Bloom says Gauteng Health Department’s failure to spend 784-million-rand for cancer backlogs is a scandal as big as Life Esidimeni. According to Bloom, court documents reveal 250-million-rand went unspent last year, while this year’s budget remains unused. With three-thousand patients awaiting urgent radiation, Bloom criticised the departmental incompetence. He has also called for the removal of Health MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko for neglecting life-saving treatment initiatives.

# US and Ukrainian authorities have revealed that North Korean troops have been killed during combat against Ukrainian forces, the first reported casualties since North Korea sent troops to support Russia. Ukraine’s military intelligence agency says about 30 North Korean troops were killed or wounded during a battle with the Ukrainian army over the weekend in Russia’s Kursk border region. North Korea has so far sent ten-thousand troops to Russia to help it in the almost three-year war.

# Tennis: Australia’s bad boy Nick Kyrgios will team up with Novak Djokovic at the Brisbane International after crediting the former world number one for motivating his return from serious injury. Once rivals but now firm friends, Kyrgios and Djokovic plan to play doubles at the Queensland tournament, which gets underway on the 29th of December. The pair will use the event to warm up for next month’s Australian Open, with Kyrgios using an injury-protected ranking to secure a direct entry at Melbourne Park.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-2-cents and the euro at 18-rand-90-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-86-cents and Bitcoin trades at 107-thousand-137-dollars. Gold sells at two-thousand-641-dollars-52-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 73-dollars-9-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….