News 18:00

BULLETIN 13 December 6 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# BOSA warns president Ramaphosa against axing Siviwe Gwarube over the BELA Act
# Centrist Francois Bayrou is France’s new prime minister
# And soccer: Australian professionals condemn Fifa for awarding the 2034 World Cup to Saudi Arabia

# Build One South Africa’s leader, Mmusi Maimane, has advised president Cyril Ramaphosa against axing Basic Education minister Siviwe Gwarube over her views on the Basic Education Laws Amendment Act. Maimane’s statement comes as pressure increases for Ramaphosa to implement the act without changes. Gwarube, from the DA, had previously opposed some of the clauses in the act. Maimane says Ramaphosa cannot fire Gwarube when he failed to fire the corruption-accused minister Thembi Simelane:

Ramaphosa has meanwhile appointed new members to the Commission for the Promotion of the Rights of Cultural, Religious, and Linguistic Communities for a five-year term. The commission will be chaired by Thoko Mkhwanazi-Xaluva with George Mahlangu as deputy chairperson. Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya says the commission is responsible for ensuring that South Africans can freely enjoy their culture, religion, and language:

# The Khulisa Social Solutions says survivors of gender-based violence are trapped in cycles of abuse due to fear, financial dependence or societal pressure. The organisation engaged with over two-thousand people as part of the 16 Days campaign of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children. The organisation’s Lesley Ann van Selm says providing survivors with training, education, job opportunities and leadership, can help them rebuild their lives while fostering independence:

# Francois Bayrou is the new prime minister of France following Michel Barnier’s resignation. The 73-year-old is a crucial partner in president Emmanuel Macron’s centrist alliance and has been a well-known figure in French politics for decades. Macron’s office says in a statement Bayrou has been charged with forming a new government. The French government collapsed last week after Barnier lost a vote of no confidence that was prompted by budget disputes. He subsequently tendered his resignation after just 90 days in the job.

# Soccer: Australian professionals condemned world body Fifa for rewarding the 2034 men’s World Cup to Saudi Arabia, believing the tournament comes with significant human rights risks. The kingdom presented the only bid for the tournament and it was accepted on Wednesday. Co-CEO of Australia’s professional players’ body, Beau Busch, says the international soccer community should hold Fifa accountable for the decision, while other organisations also criticised the world body. Saudi-Arabia denied accusations of human rights abuses.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-90-cents and the euro at 18-rand-79-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-65-cents and Bitcoin trades at 100-thousand-391-dollars. Gold sells at two-thousand-660-dollars-76-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 73-dollars-48-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….