News 13:00

BULLETIN 8 November 1 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# South Africa’s High Commissioner urges dialogue amid Mozambique’s escalating post-election crisis
# The Gauteng Education Department suspends the sale of food on school premises
# And tennis: The season’s eight best men fight for the honours in the ATP Finals in Turin

# South Africa’s High Commissioner, Siphiwe Nyanda, has called for urgent dialogue to resolve the post-election crisis in Mozambique. Mozambique’s capital, Maputo, is almost under siege, with roads blocked and clashes forcing South Africa to close the Lebombo border post. The Southern Africa Development Community will meet later this month to address regional election issues. In a statement, Nyanda stressed that peaceful negotiation is essential to prevent further destabilisation and secure the nations’ trade and security interests.

# The Gauteng Department of Education has instructed all schools to suspend the sale of food within and around school premises until further notice. This follows an increase in incidents of foodborne illnesses, including the death of six children last month after eating snacks from a spaza shop in Soweto. The department’s spokesperson, Steve Mabona, says once the suspension has been lifted, schools will have to implement measures to safeguard the health and well-being of learners:

# Akani Retirement Fund Administrators says it has surpassed 102-million-rand two-pot claims payments for the Municipal Employees Pension Fund. The claims process started on the 16th of September. The fund’s Mathawe Matsapola says they are proud of this achievement:

# Tennis: Top-seeded local hero Jannik Sinner, Daniil Medvedev from Russia, American Taylor Fritz and Australian Alex de Minaur will fight it out in the Ilie Nastase Group when the ATP Finals starts in Turin, Italy, on Sunday. Second-seeded German Alexander Zverev will come up against Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, Norwegian Casper Ruud and Russian Andrey Rublev in the John Newcombe group. The season’s eight best players will compete in a round-robin phase, and the top two players in each group will proceed to the semifinal.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-43-cents and the euro at 18-rand-80-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-60-cents and Bitcoin trades at 75-thousand-862-dollars-30-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-690-dollars-29-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 74-dollars-68-cents a barrel.

# And finally: The Johannesburg Bach Choir will boast some new young faces at its upcoming concert at the St John’s College Chapel in Hougton on the 17th of this month. Newcomer Monde Ngwane will sing a solo in the concert. The event will also mark the last occasion on which the retiring music director, Tim Roberts, will conduct the choir. He has led the choir for the past 15 years. The first concert of the choir was held in Bramley on the first of September.

Stay tuned for more news………….