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BULLETIN 16 November 9 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Fikile Mbalula says preparations are at an advanced stage for the ANC national general council
# Soccer: Bafana outclass Zambia in Gqeberha
# And: The former South African US ambassador Franklin Sonn dies at 86

ANC secretary general, Fikile Mbalula says preparations are at an advanced stage for the ANC national general council scheduled for December. Mbalula was speaking at the ANC national executive committee meeting in Germiston, Ekurhuleni. The council will be a platform for the movement to critically evaluate implementation of Conference resolutions. He adds the NGC will also reflect on the performance of the government of national unity, economic priorities, service delivery acceleration, and progress on rebuilding the state:

# Eskom says year-to-date, diesel expenditure remains consistently below budget. The power utility spokesperson, Daphne Mokwena says diesel expenditure for the past week was a marginal 4.8-million-rand, compared to 287.64-million-rand during the same period last year, underscoring the financial and operational benefits of the Eskom turnaround. She says the limited diesel usage was exclusively for environmental correlation tests on Unit 12 at Ankerlig Power Station to meet statutory compliance requirements:

# At least four people have died after two boats carrying nearly 100 migrants capsized off the coast of Libya on Saturday. Those so far confirmed to have died by the Libyan Red Crescent, were all passengers in a boat carrying 26 Bangladeshi nationals. The humanitarian group did not say whether there were further fatalities among passengers in a second boat which sank while carrying around 70 mostly Sudanese people. According to the UN International Organisation for Migration the boats were using the central Mediterranean route between North Africa and Italy, which is considered the deadliest known migration route in the world.

Soccer: Bafana Bafana stormed to a 3-1 victory over Zambia at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha on Saturday afternoon. The outcome proved that the word friendly is not part of Belgian coach Hugo Broos’ vocabulary. Broos made it clear during the week that there are no casual games in his camp, and his players took it to heart. Goals from Oswin Appollis, Mohau Nkota and Sphephelo Sithole saw Bafana Bafana secure an emphatic triumph. The victory will further boost their confidence heading into the continental championships, which get under way in just over five weeks in Morocco.

# Golf: JC Ritchie won the Stella Artois Players Championship on the Sunshine Tour by two shots on 17 under par, after a marathon day at Randpark Golf Club on Saturday. In order to avoid the predicted adverse weather, it was decided to play both the third and fourth rounds in a single day on Saturday which led to a marathon of 36 holes for the Sunshine Tour professionals. Ritchie finished the third round tied for the lead with Bryce Easton. He then added a final round of 69 to claim victory. Christiaan Burke and Oliver Bekker shared second place on 15 under par.

# And finally: South Africa’s former ambassador to the United States, Franklin Sonn, passed away at the age of 86. According to his son Crispin he died at about 15:30 on Saturday while engaging in one of his favourite pastimes – watching rugby. Sonn was born in the Karoo and graduated from the University of the Western Cape. He began his career as an educator and later became rector of the Peninsula Technikon. In 1995, President Nelson Mandela appointed him as South Africa’s ambassador to the United States, a role in which he represented the country during a pivotal period in its democratic transition.

Stay tuned for more news………….