News 14:00

BULLETIN 5 January 2 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# COPE warns South Africa amid US foreign pressure
# Concern about the increase in teenage pregnancies
# And soccer: Bafana Bafana’s captain is disappointed at their early AFCON exit

# COPE condemns US president Donald Trump’s actions against Venezuela, calling them a threat to sovereignty and global peace. Acting general secretary Eric Mohlapamaswi criticises reported civilian casualties and the arrest of president Nicolas Maduro. COPE urges the United Nations Security Council to intervene immediately and calls on South Africa to pursue independent economic and diplomatic strategies while resisting US pressure and protecting national interests.

Meanwhile, union Nehawu says the US military strikes against a democratically-elected government in Venezuela serve as evidence about the hypocrisy of the US government. Maduro and his wife were captured by the US military over the weekend and charged with drug trafficking and weapons offences. Nehawu’s spokesperson, Lwazi Nkolonzi, says they support Venezuela in its struggles for national sovereignty and self-determination:

# The Department of Social Development has expressed concern that more than 160 teenage girls gave birth on New Year’s Day, double the number recorded in 2025, when just over 80 teenage mothers were reported. In total, one-thousand-669 babies were born across public health facilities. The department’s spokesperson, Sandy Godlwana, says these figures highlight the urgent need to intensify efforts to address persistent social challenges within communities:

# Soccer: Bafana Bafana captain Ronwen Williams says he is disappointed that they failed to reach their objectives at the Africa Cup of Nations. South Africa suffered a 2-1 defeat to five-time champions Cameroon in the round of 16 in Morocco on Sunday. Williams says they did not play to the best of their ability, which is something they need to rectify heading into the World Cup:

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-47-cents and the euro at 19-rand-24-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-14-cents and Bitcoin trades at 92-thousand-860-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-432-dollars-21-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 60-dollars-60-cents a barrel.

# And finally: The South African Weather Service has issued severe thunderstorm warnings for five provinces, with heavy rain, strong winds, and localized flooding expected. Level 4 alerts cover Mpumalanga’s escarpment and northern Limpopo, while Level 2 warnings include central and eastern Limpopo, KwaZulu-Natal, Free State, North West, and other parts of Mpumalanga. Extremely high fire danger is forecast in Kai Garib in the Northern Cape.

Stay tuned for more news………….