News 16:00

BULLETIN 24 January 4 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The DA declares war on the unconstitutional Expropriation Act
# The Department of Health confirms the death of another suspected illegal miner in Stilfontein
# And tennis: Defending champion Jannik Sinner goes through to the Australian Open final

# The DA has vowed to fight the newly signed Expropriation Act in court. They believe the law is unconstitutional and threatens the constitutional rights of South Africans. The party is committed to fighting this legislation by all possible means and promises to hold the government accountable. The DA’s Willie Aucamp says the Expropriation Act as well as the National Health Insurance Act undermine the rule of law and is dangerous for South Africa’s future:

# The Department of Health has confirmed the death of another suspected illegal miner in Stilfontein, North West. The deceased was part of a group of 33 illegal miners admitted to the Klerksdorp/Tshepong Hospital under police guard after their arrest during a national rescue operation at a disused mine last week. The department’s Tshegofatso Mothibedi says they are coordinating with law enforcement to prevent further loss of life:

# Education activist Hendrick Makaneta has called on private Afrikaans higher education institution Akademia to introduce English as a medium of instruction alongside Afrikaans. While praising the institution’s dedication to preserving Afrikaans culture, Makaneta emphasises the importance of inclusivity in higher education. He suggests that offering English-medium courses would attract a more diverse student population, promote multilingualism, and position Akademia as a leader in fostering unity in South Africa’s multicultural society:

# Hundreds of migrants in the United States were arrested and others flown out of the country on military aircraft as president Donald Trump’s promised mass deportation operation got underway. The crackdown came as Trump prepared to head to California and North Carolina, where natural disasters have turned into political footballs. On another whirlwind day in his first week as president, Trump told Fox News he would rather not impose tariffs on China, after repeated vows to hit America’s biggest economic rival with hefty import levies.

# Tennis: World number one Jannik Sinner of Italy will aim for his third Grand Slam title at the Australian Open on Sunday. The defending champion struggled in the first set against American Ben Shelton, but eventually clinched it in the tiebreaker. He then won the next two sets 6-2, 6-2 to advance to the title match. Sinner will face Alexander Zverev of Germany, who is still searching for his first Grand Slam title. The world number two advanced when ten-time champion Novak Djokovic of Serbia withdrew with injury.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-36-cents and the euro at 19-rand-24-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-78-cents and Bitcoin trades at 105-thousand-294-dollars. Gold sells at two-thousand-778-dollars-34-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 77-dollars-94-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….