News 11:00

BULLETIN 13 November 11 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The DA accuses the MK Party’s John Hlophe of trying to undermine the extradition of the Guptas
# A broadcasting coalition says the withdrawal of the SABC Bill paves the way for financial and policy solutions
# And motorsport: Formula One’s race director steps down with immediate effect

# The DA says it is disgraceful that MK Party parliamentary leader John Hlophe attempted to use Parliament to find and expose flaws in the Guptas’ extradition process. Earlier this year, the government gave assurances that it is continuing efforts to extradite brothers Atul and Rajesh Gupta from the United Arab Emirates. The DA’s Glynnis Breytenbach says it is high time that the Guptas face the full might of the South African criminal justice system:

# The SOS Support Public Broadcasting Coalition says the withdrawal of the SABC Bill paves the way for urgent financial and policy solutions for the public broadcaster. Together with Media Monitoring Africa and the South African National Editors’ Forum, they urge the Department of Communications to quickly finalise the white paper on public broadcasting and address the SABC’s financial challenges. The coalition’s Uyanda Siyotula calls for a sustainable funding model to secure the broadcaster’s future: 

# Fired Johannesburg’s mayoral committee member for Community Development, Kabelo Gwamanda, has demanded that he be reinstated, arguing that his removal lacked compliance with procedural fairness. The former mayor is accused of running a funeral policy scam that he established in Soweto. Gwamanda’s lawyers say he learned about his dismissal through the media statement issued by the mayor’s office. The lawyers say should these procedural irregularities remain unaddressed, Gwamanda reserves the right to approach the courts.

# Major French newspapers are taking social media platform X to court, saying it doesn’t pay for the use of their content. The newspapers include Le Monde, Le Figaro and Le Parisien. They argue they are due payment under their ancillary rights, forcing digital platforms to pay news outlets for the distribution of their content. They accuse X, owned by billionaire Elon Musk, of not complying with the Paris Court of Justice’s May order to release information to enable them to calculate the amount owed.

# Motorsport: Formula One race director Niels Wittich has stepped down from his role with immediate effect, with three races left of the season. The German has been in the job since 2022, initially sharing it with Eduardo Freitas as a dual replacement for Michael Masi, before taking on the job full-time last year. The FIA says Wittich is leaving to pursue new opportunities. F2 and F3 race director Rui Marques has been named as Wittich’s replacement starting with next week’s Las Vegas Grand Prix.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-8-cents and the euro at 19-rand-18-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-2-cents and Bitcoin trades at 87-thousand-75-dollars-88-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-604-dollars-92-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 68-dollars-9-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….