News 12:00

BULLETIN 12 November 12 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Sibiya’s associate Stuart Scharnick opens a defamation case against the Crime Intelligence boss
# SAFCEI vows legal action against Koeberg’s nuclear licence extension
# And China’s BAIC will start assembling B30 SUVs in South Africa early next year

# Embattled deputy police commissioner Shadrack Sibiya’s associate, Stuart Scharnick, has opened a case against Crime Intelligence head, Dumisani Khumalo. This follows Khumalo’s testimony before the Madlanga commission of inquiry, where he labelled Scharnick a serial hijacker and linked him to criminal syndicates. Speaking to the media outside the Pretoria Central police station, Scharnick says Khumalo lacks intelligence in making the defamatory statements against him:

# The Southern African Faith Communities’ Environment Institute is considering legal action against the National Nuclear Regulator’s decision to grant a 20-year licence extension for Koeberg nuclear power station in Cape Town’s unit two. The environmental group’s Francesca de Gasparis warns the approval overlooks critical safety gaps, including outdated containment tests, non-functional monitoring systems, and the absence of tested emergency plans for nearby communities. De Gasparis vows to pursue all legal avenues to hold the regulator accountable:

# Leading Chinese carmaker Beijing Automotive Group, BAIC, will start assembling its newly-launched B30 off-road SUV at its factory in Gqeberha in the Eastern Cape as early as January. Financial head Anele Geza told Reuters the model with combustion engine and hybrid models will be assembled using a completely knocked-down production process. It assembles cars from many small parts, with increased local content. Multi-national automakers – including Toyota and Ford – have been advocating for increased local production by newcomers in order to preserve the domestic auto industry and increase local content.

Moving abroad:

# Dozens of indigenous protesters forced their way into the COP30 climate summit venue in Belem, Brazil, and clashed with security guards. The angry protesters demanded access to the United Nations compound where thousands of delegates from countries around the world are attending. Some waved flags with slogans calling for land rights or carried signs saying, “Our land is not for sale”, and demanded forest protection. A prominent indigenous leader told Reuters many from the indigenous communities are upset with ongoing industry and development projects in the Amazon.

# 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. He owns one-third of the team. According to reports, Wolff 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-11-cents and the euro at 19-rand-82-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-50-cents and Bitcoin trades at 104-thousand-23-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-128-dollars-72-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 64-dollars-69-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….