News 15:00

BULLETIN 7 January 3 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# An analyst warns the ANC must rebuild trust ahead of its 113th anniversary celebrations
# TLU SA says the rain falling in grain-producing areas is of immeasurable value
# And Soccer: Tottenham extends captain Son’s Heung-min’s contract to 2026

# Political analyst Levy Ndou says the ANC must focus on regaining the trust it lost in key provinces during last year’s general elections. The party lost its majority for the first time since democracy, receiving 40-percent of the vote. Ndou told SABC News that as the ANC marks its 113th anniversary in Khayelitsha, it needs to reconnect with voters:

# Agriculture union TLU SA says at this stage, the rain falling in the grain-producing areas of the country is of immeasurable value. Agri economists believe many staple crops will benefit from the El Niño weather phenomenon that is expected to bring more rain this year. TLU SA’s, Bennie Van Zyl, says rains, particularly in the eastern Highveld regions, have affected the maize’s potential to produce a full harvest:

# ArcelorMittal South Africa’s shares dropped by 30-percent after announcing the closure of its Long Steel Business, which will lead to job losses in Newcastle and Vereeniging. According to News24, the company says the shutdown could have been avoided if the government addressed its concerns, including issues with the country’s scrap policy. The closure will result in 2.7-billion-rand impairments but allow the company to focus on its flat steel division. Despite notifying the government about its decision, the company has not received any feedback.

# International flights resumed at Syria’s main airport in Damascus today for the first time since Islamist-led rebels toppled president Bashar al-Assad last month. A Syrian Airlines flight bound for Sharjah, in the United Arab Emirates, took off, marking the first international commercial flight from the airport since 8 December. International aid planes and foreign diplomatic delegations have already been landing in Syria, and domestic flights have also resumed.

# Soccer: Tottenham have exercised the option to extend captain Son Heung-min’s contract until 2026. The 32-year old South Korean joined the Premier League club in 2015 from Bayer Leverkusen and has made 431 appearances, scoring 169 goals – fourth on Tottenham’s all-time list. Son, named club captain in August 2023, shared the Premier League’s Golden Boot with Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah in the 2021/22 season after scoring 23 goals. He is also captain of South Korea, making 131 appearances to date and scoring 51 times.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-56-cents and the euro at 19-rand-34-cents. One British pound costs 29-rand-26-cents and Bitcoin trades at 101-thousand-455-dollars. Gold sells at two-thousand-643-dollars-54-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 76-dollars-67-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….