News 08:00

BULLETIN 11 November 8 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# President Ramaphosa says no developmental state can succeed without universities and research institutions
# A senior US soldier is arrested in Britain on allegations of spying for Russia
# And tennis: Linda Noskova is through to the semifinals on her WTA Finals debut

# President Cyril Ramaphosa has called for stronger cooperation between government, universities and national science councils to address South Africa’s economic challenges, tackle unemployment and drive innovation. He addressed the Presidential Engagement with university vice-chancellors and national science councils at the Union Buildings in Pretoria yesterday. Ramaphosa stated that no developmental state has succeeded without strong universities and strong public research institutions. He acknowledged concerns about the financial sustainability of universities, governance instability in higher education, and insufficient public and private investment in research.

# Union federation SAFTU says South Africa must never accept mass unemployment as normal, as behind every statistic is a person denied the means to support themselves and their family. The country’s official unemployment rate rose to 33.7-percent in the third quarter of this year, from 33.6-percent in the second quarter. The latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey shows that the number of unemployed persons has increased to 8.6 million. SAFTU’s Asive Dyani says government must abandon austerity and present a funded employment strategy that creates decent work:

# ActionSA in KwaZulu-Natal says it has held constructive coalition discussions with both the ANC and the MK Party. The talks come after the elections left several municipalities in the province without an outright majority, including the eThekwini metro, placing ActionSA in a potential kingmaker position in some councils. The party is still awaiting responses from the DA and the IFP. ActionSA’s spokesperson, Thobile Phantshi, says they have three non-negotiables: improved basic service delivery, zero tolerance of corruption and the enforcement of immigration laws:

# A senior member of the US Army has been arrested by British counter-terrorism police over allegations of espionage related to Russia. The 41-year-old soldier, who was based at Imjin Barracks in Innsworth, Gloucestershire, was arrested near Gloucester. Counter Terrorism Policing confirmed that the arrest is not linked to any other ongoing national security investigations. FBI Director Kash Patel emphasised that the bureau has zero tolerance for individuals who violate their oath to the US, adding that such actions severely endanger the national security of America and its international partners.

# Tennis: Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova has become the first player to clinch a semifinal spot in the WTA Finals at Indian Wells in the US. The 21-year-old Czech, who is playing in the tournament for the first time, defeated American Coco Gauff, 6-3, 6-3, to make it two wins from two following her victory over Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk. American Jessica Pegula bounced back from her defeat to Gauff to keep her hopes of reaching the semifinals alive with a 6-2, 7-5 victory over eliminated Kostyuk.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-50-cents and the euro at 18-rand-43-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-3-cents, and Bitcoin trades at 73-thousand-728-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-49-dollars-3-cents a fine ounce, and Brent crude oil is quoted at 94-dollars-80-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….