News 11:00

BULLETIN 5 November 11 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The ANC is leading nationally after yesterday’s elections
# Police are investigating 14 cases linked to the elections
# And golf: BC Partners has reportedly dropped its bid to finance LIV Golf 2.0

# With 20-percent of voting districts declared, the ANC is leading nationally with 31.39-percent, closely followed by the DA on 30.41-percent and the MK Party at 5.57-percent. In Gauteng, the DA is ahead with 39.26-percent, including in Johannesburg, while ActionSA is in the lead in Tshwane. In KwaZulu-Natal, Jacob Zuma’s MK is in the lead with 32.68-percent, followed closely by the ANC and the IFP. The DA leads in the Western Cape, while ActionSA has won the Karoo municipality of Laingsburg, wresting support away from the ANC.

The IEC will announce the final results on Sunday.

Meanwhile, national police commissioner Fannie Masemola says they are investigating approximately 14 cases linked to the elections. Police are also dealing with serious crimes, including murders reported in KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape. Masemola addressing the media at the IEC’s results operations centre in Midrand, Johannesburg. He says overall the elections proceeded peacefully, with police responding to incidents where necessary:

# The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority urges patients and healthcare professionals to report suspected side effects from medicines. The call forms part of the global MedSafetyWeek campaign, running until Sunday. Reports can be made through the Med Safety App or with a healthcare professional, and people do not need to be certain that a medicine caused their symptoms before reporting. SAHPRA says reports help it monitor medicine safety, identify possible risks and take action where necessary.

Moving abroad:

# The world’s developing economies are bearing the heaviest burden from shipping disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz caused by the US-Iranian conflict. According to a report by the United Nations’ Trade and Development Agency, UNCTAD, 95 countries have experienced local diesel price surges exceeding 20-percent since February. In Nigeria, diesel prices jumped by 83-percent between late February and the end of August, compared with a modest nine-percent increase in Ireland. UNCTAD says the elevated fuel costs have driven up the overall cost of living globally.

# Golf: Private capital firm BC Partners Credit is reportedly set to drop its bid to finance the future of LIV Golf, citing the inability to secure enough player commitments for next year. It had pledged a 4.98-billion-rand financing package for LIV 2.0 after Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund withdrew its backing in April, leading to the league filing for bankruptcy protection. LIV’s high-profile players, including Louis Oosthuizen, Jon Rahm, Sergio Garcia and Tyrrell Hatton, have quit. According to Financial Times, LIV is pivoting toward a wind-down of its operations.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-35-cents and the euro at 18-rand-42-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-8-cents and Bitcoin trades at 80-thousand-650-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-128-dollars-23-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 97-dollars-29-sents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….