News 18:00

BULLETIN 17 January 6 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Sanco demands clarity on the arrest of a volunteer in the Stilfontein rescue mission
# Cosatu challenges Afriforum to take legal action against the BELA Act
# And SA Rugby responds to questions about the failed investment deal

# The South African National Civics Organisation is seeking clarity after a volunteer involved in the illegal miners’ rescue mission in Stilfontein in North West was arrested. The organisation has expressed anger over the arrest, insisting that if this individual is held for being involved, others who participated in the operation should also face the same treatment. Sanco’s Mzukisi Jam says the volunteer played a vital role in retrieving bodies from the abandoned shaft:

# Union federation Cosatu has dismissed AfriForum’s threat to challenge the Basic Education Laws Amendment Act, believing such action would fail in court. Spokesperson Zanele Sabela emphasises the act’s transformative goals, promoting inclusivity and mother-tongue education while ensuring oversight to prevent discrimination. She reaffirms the BELA Act’s constitutionality and commitment to an equitable education system for all South African learners:

# President Joe Biden has commuted the sentences of nearly two-thousand-500 people convicted of non-violent drug offenses in what the White House calls the largest single-day act of clemency in US history. Biden says those whose sentences were commuted were serving disproportionately long sentences compared to what they would receive today. He commuted the sentences of nearly one-thousand-500 people and pardoned 39 others last month. Among those pardoned was Biden’s son Hunter, who was facing a possible prison sentence after being convicted of gun and tax crimes.

# SA Rugby has commissioned a governance review by an independent audit firm to assure stakeholders that governance requirements were adhered to in relation to a proposed equity transaction. SA Rugby’s executive council met today to discuss stakeholder concerns raised by media reports around technicalities relating to the transaction. The reports related to the failed investment proposal by US-based ASG Group into the commercial rights of SA Rugby, the establishment of a company, Win by One, and the fees payable to international brokers who worked on the deal.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-80-cents and the euro at 19-rand-31-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-87-cents and Bitcoin trades at 102-thousand-644-dollars. Gold sells at two-thousand-706-dollars-14-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 79-dollars-86-cents a barrel.

# And finally: The Kruger National Park has reopened most of its gravel roads following recent heavy rains. The Skukuza-Lower Sabie main road remains partly washed away, with access to Lower Sabie via Tshokwane. While S33 is still closed, Sand and Sabie low-level bridges are now passable. In addition, Talamati bush camp reopened today while the Balule camp is accessible only via the Olifants River high-water bridge. Spokesperson JP Louw urges visitors to remain alert and to check road conditions:

Stay tuned for more news………….