News 16:00

BULLETIN 7 January 4 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Education Department fights Information Regulator’s urgent application to prevent publication of matric results
# Two more suspects are arrested for a police murder in Gqeberha
# And Rugby: South African teams face Champions and Challenge Cup action this weekend

# The Department of Basic Education says the Information Regulator’s urgent application to stop the publication of matric results lacks true urgency. With the results set to be announced next week, the legal battle continues in the High Court in Pretoria over the balance between privacy and public access. The court announced it would decide tomorrow morning whether to proceed with the matter. The department’s legal counsel Marius Oosthuizen told the court the urgency is self-created:

# Another two suspects have been arrested by the Hawks for the murder of police officer, Callan Andrews, and robbery of his service pistol on 31 December. Andrews, attached to the Gelvandale Police Station, was fatally shot while attending a complaint in Katanga. An 18-year-old was initially arrested and released due to insufficient evidence. The 27-year-old suspects will appear in the Gelvandale Magistrate’s Court tomorrow. A 17-year old suspect already appeared in court yesterday.

# ActionSA has accused Agriculture minister John Steenhuisen of using a fleet of luxury blue-light SUVs, each costing over one-million-rand. ActionSA’s Dereleen James says this contradicts DA Federal chairperson Helen Zille’s public claims of rejecting blue-light perks for any DA minister. ActionSA criticises the extravagance amid poverty, calling it emblematic of a wasteful government of national unity prioritising perks over citizens’ struggles:

# The death toll in the 7.1-magnitude earthquake which struck a remote region of Tibet has risen to at least 95. The quake toppled houses in remote Himalayan villages, rocked a nearby Tibetan holy city and rattled visitors to a Mount Everest base camp. Local authorities say at least 130 people were injured in the quake, with tremors felt as far as Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu. The nearest major city to the epicentre is the holy city of Shigatse, the home of the second-highest spiritual leader in Tibetan Buddhism.

# Rugby: South African teams will get the new year going this weekend with action in the Champions and Challenge Cups. In the Champions Cup, the Sharks face title holders Toulouse in Durban on Saturday. The Stormers have a must-win game in Cape Town against Sale Sharks after two losses. The Bulls are in the same boat and face Castres away in France. In the Challenge Cup the Lions face Montpellier at home in France and the Cheetahs play against Zebre in Amsterdam on Sunday.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-58-cents and the euro at 19-rand-34-cents. One British pound costs 29-rand-30-cents and Bitcoin trades at 100-thousand-754-dollars. Gold sells at two-thousand-649-dollars-30-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 76-dollars-71-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….