News 11:00

BULLETIN 12 November 11 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Fikile Mbalula wants a probe into how 17 South Africans ended up fighting in the Ukrainian-Russian war
# Close allies of UK prime minister Starmer say any attempts to oust him would be reckless
# And motorsport: Toto Wolff is reportedly in talks to sell part of his stake in Mercedes’ F1 team

# ANC secretary general Fikile Mbalula is calling for government to spare no effort in investigating under whose authority 17 South Africans were recruited to fight in the Ukrainian-Russian war. The men, who are trapped in the war-torn Donbas region of Ukraine, were lured to join mercenary forces involved in the war. According to News24, the men ended up in the combat zone after allegedly being sent to Russia by Jacob Zuma’s MK Party. Mbalula says this matter should be treated with urgency:

The MK Party says meanwhile it expects the medium-term budget policy statement to break from austerity and the failed neo-liberal policies that have kept South Africa in a state of economic paralysis. Finance minister Enoch Godongwana is set to table the budget in the National Assembly this afternoon. MK’s spokesperson, Nhlamulo Ndhlela, says they are calling for large-scale investments in infrastructure, industrialisation and public employment programmes such as the Presidential Employment Stimulus:

# The University of the Witwatersrand has suspended a newly-elected Student Representative Council member accused of raping a female student, pending the outcome of an investigation. The matter was reported to the university’s Gender Equity Office by a fellow student. Wits spokesperson, Shirona Patel, says they condemn all forms of gender-based harm, and reaffirm their unwavering commitment to creating a safe, inclusive and socially just environment for all students:

Moving abroad:

# UK prime minister Keir Starmer’s most senior political aides have warned any attempt to oust him would be a reckless and dangerous move that could destabilise the markets and the Labour Party. Some party members are reportedly plotting to remove Starmer, with potential candidates to displace him including some of his closest cabinet allies, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood and Health Secretary Wes Streeting. Starmer’s senior political aides say he will fight any challenge to his leadership rather than stand aside.

# Motorsport: Team principal and CEO, Toto Wolff, is reportedly in talks to sell part of his stake in the Mercedes Formula One team. The deal values Mercedes at a record 104-billion-rand. Wolff owns one-third of the team. According to reports, he plans to bring an outside investor who would take a stake of about five-percent in the team, with the 53-year-old remaining in his roles. Mercedes won eight constructors’ titles in a row from 2014 to 2021 and is second in this year’s standings after 21 races.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-12-cents and the euro at 19-rand-84-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-50-cents and Bitcoin trades at 103-thousand-502-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-123-dollars-74-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 64-dollars-76-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….