News 14:00

BULLETIN 20 January 2 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The minimum wage is blamed for 430-thousand job losses
# Tennis: Jannik Sinner and Madison Keys are through to the Australian Open quarterfinals
# And King Misuzulu cancels his wedding amid legal and personal turmoil

# The Institute of Race Relations says the national minimum wage has destroyed an estimated 430-thousand jobs since its implementation in 2019. The organisation urges the Minimum Wage Commission to cut the wage by 25-percent, which it believes could restore up to half-a-million jobs. The institute’s Gabriel Crouse says 39-percent of workers now earn less than the minimum wage and warns the proposed increase will worsen unemployment:

# The City of Tshwane is investigating the leak of its 2023/’24 financial audit report. The report, leaked to Moneyweb, revealed a qualified audit opinion and irregular expenditure rising to 2.3-billion-rand, up from 1.9-billion-rand in the previous financial year. In the report, Auditor-General Tsakane Maluleke also flagged wasteful expenditure at 347-million-rand, while unauthorised expenditure increased from 423-million- to 2.1-billion-rand. The metro says the origin and accuracy of the information cited in the report remain uncertain.

# Political analyst Kenneth Mokgathle is calling on African governments to take ownership of their crises and find lasting solutions. He says in northern Mozambique, extremist groups such as Al-Shabaab have carried out brutal attacks, and killing of people while in Nigeria, the extremist group Boko Haram continues to wreak havoc. Mokgathle says it is sad that genocide is taking place in Sudan, but America and Europe are more vocal about it than African leaders:

# Tennis: World number one and defending champion, Jannik Sinner, battled his way to the Australian Open quarterfinals. The Italian, who struggled with heat and called a medical timeout, defeated Denmark’s Holger Rune, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2. Sinner will face either Australian Alex de Minaur or American Alex Michelsen next. In the women’s draw, American Madison Keys beat Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina in three sets to make the quarterfinals for the fourth time. Sinner says the match was tough:

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-76-cents and the euro at 19-rand-35-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-86-cents and Bitcoin trades at 108-thousand-213-dollars. Gold sells at two-thousand-707-dollars-75-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 79-dollars-55-cents a barrel.

# And finally: Zulu King Misuzulu kaZwelithini, has cancelled his wedding to fiancée Nomzamo Myeni, set for this weekend. In a letter, the king requested the withdrawal of Myeni’s royal benefits and security, citing reasons beyond the royal family’s control. According to Daily Maverick the decision comes amid claims about Myeni’s past relationships and a court bid by the king’s estranged wife, Queen Ntokozo Zulu, to halt the wedding, citing bigamy concerns. The cancellation follows the dismissal of a key royal aide, Prince Simphiwe Zulu.

Stay tuned for more news………….