News 13:00

BULLETIN 11 December 1 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Minister Sindisiwe Chikunga encourages South Africans to join the fight to end gender-based violence
# Moscow shares details on Assad’s escape to Russia
# And rugby: Ronan O’Gara won’t be interested in coaching Wales should Warren Gatland resign

# Minister in the Presidency for Women, Youth, and Persons with Disabilities, Sindisiwe Chikunga, says a collaborative approach is needed to combat gender-based violence. The Human Science and Research Council released the results of the first-ever national Gender-Based Violence survey conducted in 2022, revealing that over 33-percent of South African women have experienced physical violence in their lifetime. Chikunga says all stakeholders must work tirelessly until the chains of violence are broken:

# The City of Johannesburg is urging spaza shop owners to submit registration forms by Friday. The city says despite issuing five-thousand-944 forms across seven regions, participation remains low. Required documents include certified IDs, proof of residence, valid leases, and tax clearance certificates. Non-compliance could lead to shop closures. Officials emphasise registration as vital to formalising and supporting the sector. Shop owners are encouraged to act promptly to secure permits and avoid disruptions to their businesses.

# A senior economist from FNB, Thanda Sithole, says the manufacturing sector remains under pressure, constrained by weak domestic demand and a challenging global environment. Manufacturing production did increase by 0.8-percent year on year in October, reversing the 0.8-percent drop recorded for September, and breaking a two-month streak of underwhelming output. Sithole says this is despite reduced energy constraints and modest input costs:

# Russia’s deputy Foreign minister has confirmed former Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad is in the country. Sergei Ryabkov told NBC News Russia transported him there in the most secure way possible. Asked whether Russia would hand over Assad for trial, Ryabkov said Russia wasn’t a party to the convention that established the International Criminal Court. The Assad regime had been accused of attacks with chemical weapons, other war crimes, murder, systematic torture and enforced disappearances. Assad’s wife Asma and their two children are reportedly also in Moscow.

# Rugby: La Rochelle’s coach, Ronan O’Gara, says he desperately wants to test himself on international level, but won’t be interesting in Wales who had lost their last 12 matches. The former Irish fly-half led the French team to back-to-back Champions Cup titles after being assistant coach for Racing 92 and the Crusaders. O’Gara says there are Test jobs he would love to have, but there are no other potential vacancies. Welsh coach Warren Gatland said earlier he would discuss his future in Cardiff with his family.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-87-cents and the euro at 18-rand-77-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-78-cents and Bitcoin trades at 97-thousand-857-dollars. Gold sells at two-thousand-691-dollars-45-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 72-dollars-55-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….