News 11:00

BULLETIN 29 November 11 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Deputy minister Letsike calls for tougher sentences in statutory rape cases
# The police launch a manhunt after two Ivory Park officers were killed
# And Airbus grounds six thousand A320s worldwide over faulty control software

# Deputy Minister in the Presidency for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, Steve Letsike, has called for harsher sentences for statutory rape cases. The latest statistics indicate that at least 117-thousand girls aged ten to 19 gave birth in the last financial year. She says the numbers don’t match statutory rape reports, which remain below 20-percent. Speaking to SABC News, Letsike warned that unplanned and coerced pregnancies are devastating young futures:

# Police in Gauteng have launched an urgent manhunt after two Ivory Park officers were shot, killed, and disarmed while on duty in Extension 9. The suspects fled with two SAPS pistols, a rifle, and cellphones. Provincial Commissioner Tommy Mthombeni has deployed specialised units to track them down. Police spokesperson Athlenda Mathe condemned continued attacks on officers, urging vigilance as six police deaths were recorded between April and September this year:

# Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis urges immediate steps to increase conviction rates for gang, gun, and drug crimes after the latest quarterly crime stats show high violent crime. Hill Lewis says the city is offering resources, including prosecution-ready case dockets, Law Enforcement Advancement Plan officers, and Metro Police support. He says the acting police minister is called on to expand municipal policing powers and urgently resource SAPS to improve convictions:

# President Volodymyr Zelensky’s powerful chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, resigned on Friday, hours after anti-corruption agents searched his home. Yermak was leading Ukraine’s effort to push back against terms proposed by the US that would satisfy many of Moscow’s territorial and security demands. Yermak has been a close friend of Zelensky’s since the president’s days as a TV comedian and helped guide his successful outsider campaign for election in 2019.  Since then, the 54-year-old has positioned himself as a chief decisionmaker, attracting criticism both at home and abroad as an unelected adviser with outsized power.

# Cricket: The Warriors were confirmed as finalists for the CSA T20 Challenge after their match against the Dolphins at St George’s Park was washed out on Friday night. They will compete against Boland in Paarl for the title. The Warriors and the Dolphins only had five overs and three balls of play before lightning and rain stopped play. According to the rules, the Warriors qualified because they finished in second place in the group stage, ahead of the Dolphins, who were third. Boland on Tuesday secured their place in the final with a narrow five-run victory over the Warriors.

# And finally: Airbus has recalled six-thousand A320 aircraft to urgently replace control software vulnerable to solar radiation. The European Airline warns of global flight disruptions amid planned holiday travels. The move follows an October incident where a JetBlue flight was forced into an emergency landing after data corruption concerns. Most planes will be updated within hours, but about one-thousand require hardware replacements that may take weeks. Airbus apologised for the inconvenience, while regulators stressed that passenger safety remains the top priority.

Stay tuned for more news………….