News 12:00

BULLETIN 10 November 12 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Khampepe commission is crucial for justice and accountability
# AfriForum will probe the death of a civilian murdered by ANC insurgents in 1978
# And eight Senate Democrats vote with the Republicans to end the US government shutdown

# The Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s spokesperson, Lionel Adendorf, says the Khampepe commission will assist in bringing closure to 25 families still seeking justice. The commission begins its work in Johannesburg today, investigating alleged political interference in apartheid-era prosecutions. Adendorf says it is vital to uncover why the National Prosecuting Authority and the police failed to act on TRC recommendations. He stresses the need to uphold constitutional obligations and accountability:

Meanwhile, the family of a civilian murdered by ANC insurgents near the Botswana border in 1978, Jaap van der Merwe, has officially requested AfriForum to help find answers about possible political interference in the prosecution of an identified suspect. Van der Merwe’s body has never been found. CEO Kallie Kriel says one of the surviving suspects in the case, who at the time used the pseudonym John Msibi, did not apply for amnesty before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and is still alive:

# President Cyril Ramaphosa says an important part of South Africa’s response to inequality is to promote debt sustainability, especially for developing economies. He says in his weekly newsletter interest on sovereign debt repayments, particularly in Africa, is stifling public spending and economic growth. Ramaphosa says South Africa is using its G20 presidency to advocate for the reform of the global financial architecture. He calls for multilateral development banks to have an inequality-reducing agenda.

# US senators have passed a funding bill that paves the way to ending the 40-day government shutdown, the longest in American history. The bill received exactly the 60 votes needed to advance in the Senate, with almost all Republicans voting in favour along with eight Democrats. The amended package will still have to be passed by the House and sent to president Donald Trump for his signature. Democrat Maggie Hassan says the Republicans must now extend the Affordable Care subsidies:

# Soccer: South Africa is through to the knockout stage of the FIFA Under-17 Men’s World Cup in Doha, Qatar, for the very first time. Despite suffering a 3-1 defeat to Italy, Amajimbos qualified for the last 32, as their four points were enough to seal second spot in Group A, ahead of Qatar and Bolivia, who drew 0-0. Belgium, Japan, Senegal, Croatia, Egypt, Venezuela, Switzerland, and Korea Republic are also through to the knockout stage.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-21-cents and the euro at 19-rand-92-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-67-cents and Bitcoin trades at 106-thousand-87-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-and-80-dollars-40-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 64-dollars-7-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….