News 09:00

BULLETIN 12 November 9 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The SACP will not enter into coalition talks with the DA and FF Plus
# Guns have become the leading weapon used to murder women in South Africa
# And golf: The ICONS Cup will bring sporting stars to South Africa

# The South African Communist Party has ruled out entering a coalition with the DA or the Freedom Front Plus following the local government elections. The SACP, which contested the local government elections independently of the tripartite alliance for the first time, won 2.38 percent of the national vote and 264 council seats. Yesterday marked the start of the 14-day window for municipal councils to be established. The SACP says it will not associate itself with right-wing, anti-Freedom Charter, neo-liberal parties, their coalition arrangements and their agendas.

# Guns are the leading weapon used to murder women in South Africa, including increasingly in mass shootings, which have become more common. This is according to Gun Free South Africa, which says that the percentage of women shot and killed increased by 75-percent between 2009 and 2020/2021. The organisation’s Claire Taylor says men who work in the security sector and carry weapons were disproportionately involved in the killings. She says the growing use of firearms demonstrated the need to address gun availability as part of efforts to prevent gender-based violence and femicide.

# Authorities have opened an investigation into an ammonia leak at Festive Chicken in Olifantsfontein, Ekurhuleni, that left 24 workers hospitalised. The incident was reported via the City of Ekurhuleni’s Life-Threatening Call Centre yesterday, prompting crews from the Olifantsfontein Fire Station to initiate an immediate emergency intervention. Disaster and Emergency Management Services spokesperson Eric Maloka stated that upon arriving at the scene, firefighters found several workers experiencing severe respiratory distress and immediately requested medical support:

# Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky says there could be a chance to reach a breakthrough in peace negotiations this year to end the war. The two-day US-led ​talks in Abu Dhabi produced an agreement on a major release of ‌prisoners ⁠of war, but little else in the way of concrete announcements on moves to end the nearly five-year-long conflict. Zelensky says Kyiv hopes for concrete results on resolving the war this year, but a lot will depend on how the US approaches talks with Moscow:

# Golf: South Africa will host the inaugural ICONS Cup golf tournament at Fancourt in George from December 11 to 13. The three-day event will see sporting stars from different disciplines swap their usual arenas for the golf course, with South Africa taking on a World team. Four-time Major winner Ernie Els will captain the South African side, while Spain’s José María Olazábal will lead the opposition. SuperSport will broadcast the event live, with morning coverage on Grandstand and afternoon sessions on its Golf channel.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-59-cents and the euro at 18-rand-38-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand, and Bitcoin trades at 73-thousand-681-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-980-dollars-79-cents a fine ounce, and Brent crude oil is quoted at 93-dollars-70-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….