News 11:00

NEWSFLASH NEWS AGENCY 17 November 11 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Basic Education Department says there are no leaked matric exam papers
# Oscar Pistorius will know his fate soon
# And, Melinda Gates will deliver the 13th Desmond Tutu International Peace Lecture

# The Department of Basic Education has condemned fake social media posts that suggest some matric examination question papers have been leaked. A total of 136 of the 231 question papers have already been written, without any incidents. The department’s spokesperson, Elijah Mhlanga, says the fake social media posts are misleading and seek to cause unnecessary confusion and panic:

Play sound: ENG ElijahonExamsPapers

# Former Paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius will know his fate two days after his 37th birthday as the parole board is expected to determine a date for his release next week Friday. The Constitutional Court in October found that he already served the minimum sentence for murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day in 2013.  The court also instructed that his sentence be backdated to July 2016. The Department of Correctional Services at the time of Pistorius’ appeal to the Constitutional Court admitted that in March this year, he had already served his minimum sentence.

# Human Rights Watch says images released by Israel of weapons it says were found inside Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza, were not sufficient to justify revoking the hospital’s status as protected by the laws of war. The Israeli military says it uncovered a Hamas tunnel shaft and a vehicle with weapons at the hospital. Human Rights Watch says Israel has not proven that harmful acts have been carried out from the hospital. Meanwhile, White House national security spokesperson, John Kirby, says it is clear Hamas is using the hospital as a command node:

Play sound: ENG KirbyOnHamasTargets

# Rugby: The Bulls and Edinburgh start the weekend’s United Rugby Championship action in the Scottish capital tonight. At the same time, the Lions will face Irish side Ulster. Tomorrow, the Sharks welcome another Irish team, Connacht, to Durban, while the Stormers are away to Munster in Ireland. The Bulls are currently on top of the log with three wins in four games. The Stormers are in eighth place after winning two and losing two. The Lions are 12th and the Sharks are in last place, 16th.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-42-cents and the euro at 19-rand-98-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-81-cents and Bitcoin trades at 36-thousand-300-dollars-7-cents. Gold sells at one-thousand-983-dollars-65-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 77-dollars-40-cents a barrel.

# And finally, international philanthropist Melinda Gates will deliver the 13th Desmond Tutu International Peace Lecture at the Cape Town International Convention Centre today. This year’s Peace Lecture theme is, Unlocking Women’s Power for Peace and Prosperity. Gates will be the second international figure to speak at the lecture in the absence of the late Archbishop, who passed away in December 2021. The Desmond and Leah Tutu Foundation says Gates will explore the transformative potential of women in society, how they impact their families, communities, and cultures, and the path to peace and prosperity.

Stay tuned for more news………….