News 13:00

BULLETIN 11 November 1pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Seventeen South African men lured to war-torn Ukraine are linked to the MK Party
# Police emphasises the extradited Nzimande brothers are a high risk to society
# And rugby: De Jager is facing the music today after his red card against France

# Seventeen South Africans who are stuck in the war-torn region of Donbas in eastern Ukraine were reportedly sent to Russia by Jacob Zuma’s MK Party. Last week, government received distress calls from the men, who had been lured to join mercenary forces under the pretext of lucrative employment contracts. According to News24, the men believed they were going to be trained as MK Party bodyguards. In a letter addressed to Russia’s Defence minister, Andrey Belousov, Zuma begs for the men to be removed from the combat zone.

# Police say murder-accused brothers Siyabonga and Malusi Nzimande, extradited from Eswatini this morning, are a high risk to society. Spokesperson Athlenda Mathe insists police have strong evidence linking them to three murder cases, including those of rapper Kiernan “AKA” Forbes and Tebello “Tibz” Motsoane. Mathe describes the pair as contract killers who must remain behind bars. She confirmed seven accused are now in custody, with no further arrests expected:

# Minister of Higher Education and Training, Buti Manamela, has appointed Mugwena Maluleke as the acting National Student Financial Aid Scheme board chairperson. He is currently serving as the vice president of Education International and Sadtu’s general secretary. The department’s spokesperson, Matshepo Seedat, says Maluleke’s appointment ensures continuity and stability as the minister proceeds with a self-review court application to regularise the board’s appointment process:

# The Cape Winelands District Municipality’s Fire Services has made progress in containing the Cogmanskloof fire above Ashton and Montagu. The fire started in the veld above Zolani last Thursday afternoon, initially spreading into CapeNature-managed land on the mountain peaks. It then spread along the ridge and onto the Montagu side of the mountains. The municipality’s Jo-Anne Otto says the fire line above Montagu Hospital has been successfully contained, and mopping-up operations are underway:

# Rugby: Springbok lock Lood de Jager is facing a disciplinary panel today following his controversial permanent red card against France last weekend. He was sent off after his shoulder made contact with French fullback Thomas Ramos’ head just before half-time, but the Boks still went on to record a comprehensive 32-17 victory. Some pundits say it should’ve been a 20-minute red because Ramos went down just before De Jager hit him, while referee Angus Gardner was eventually convinced by his assistants to give him his marching orders.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-15-cents and the euro at 19-rand-84-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-52-cents and Bitcoin trades at 105-thousand-300-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-143-dollars-84-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 64-dollars-12-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….