News 17:00

BULLETIN 6 December 5 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Tyger Valley Mall in Cape Town is evacuated after a bomb threat
# South African taxpayers will not foot Janusz Waluś’s deportation bill
# And motorsport: The Leclerc brothers are teammates in a Ferrari F1 opening practice

# The Tyger Valley Mall in Bellville, Cape Town, was evacuated earlier today, after a bomb threat. According to eyewitnesses, hundreds of people were assembled in the parking areas, waiting for more information. A Facebook user posted that he was in the centre’s food square when the evacuation order was given. The centre’s management a while back confirmed that they received an all clear from the police’s bomb squad and that there were no threats. Police spokesperson Wesley Twigg says the centre is open for business again and continues to operate as usual: 

# Home Affairs minister Leon Schreiber has clarified the cost of Janusz Waluś’ deportation to Poland will not be covered by South African taxpayers. Waluś, who assassinated SACP leader Chris Hani in 1993, was granted parole by the Constitutional Court in November 2022 after serving 28-years in prison. Schreiber confirmed Waluś will be sent back to his home country today after completing his parole period:

# DA leader John Steenhuisen says there are no noticeable interventions seen in response to the water crisis. The party briefed media on the escalating crisis of clean water supply across South Africa. He claimed that poor infrastructure maintenance, corruption, and municipal collapse have compromised the reliability of supply in hundreds of towns across the country. Steenhuisen highlighted that the work needs to start at municipal level:

# South Africa and the American city of Atlanta have signed a pledge under the Atlanta Phambili Initiative, to boost trade and investment between the two regions. The agreement was signed at a seminar hosted by the Department of Trade, Industry, and Competition. The initiative seeks to use Atlanta as a gateway to foster common understanding, grow shared prosperity, and facilitate mutually beneficial knowledge exchange. It strengthens ties in sectors like finance, technology, and logistics, with further partnerships planned for 2025 to support black-owned businesses.

# Motorsport: Charles and Arthur Leclerc became the first brothers to drive in a Formula One session as teammates when they turned out for Ferrari in opening practice at the weekend’s season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Twenty-four-year-old Arthur raced in Formula Two last season and is currently a Ferrari development driver. Charles is currently third in the drivers’ standings. F1 previously had brothers racing together, most notable Michael and Ralf Schumacher, but not in the same team. McLaren currently leads Ferrari by 21 points in the constructors’ championship.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-4-cents and the euro at 19-rand-8-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-3-cents and Bitcoin trades at 97-thousand-998-dollars. Gold sells at two-thousand-634-dollars-57-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 71-dollars-30-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….