News 15:00

BULLETIN 7 November 3 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Political parties are concerned over the bailout of SOEs
# The Western Cape Education Department applauds the smooth matric exams
# And rugby: Jean Kleyn joins the Boks as Ruan Nortjé returns home due to an injury

# Political parties have expressed concerns over the bailout of state-owned enterprises. During a debate in Parliament, SOE’s were described as financial sinkholes that take money needed for education, health, police, and other services, away from citizens. Parties such as the the DA, the FF Plus and the IFP agreed that too many of them are inefficient, and operating at a loss. The EFF’s Virgill Gericke says these entities are not properly managed:

# The Western Cape Education Department has welcomed the smooth proceedings of the first half of the 2024 matric exams without major issues. Education MEC David Maynier says nine incidents of cheating involving phones and notes have been reported and he has reminded candidates of strict rules. No leaked exam papers have been detected so far and Maynier has encouraged learners to report any suspected leaks:

Meanwhile, the Department of Basic Education is taking decisive action to address learner safety following recent incidents of violence. Minister Siviwe Gwarube condemned the recent gender-based violence incident in Mqhekezweni village in the Eastern Cape, where five matric learners were reportedly raped. According to Gwarube, the department is providing support to the victims and working with police to ensure justice: 

# Spanish police had seized 13 tonnes of cocaine, the country’s largest-ever haul of the drug, and made one arrest. Police and customs agents intercepted the cocaine in the southern port of Algeciras from a container ship that had arrived from Ecuador. The ship carried crates of bananas that concealed boxes containing the cocaine. Spain is a main entry point for drugs into Europe because of its close ties with former colonies in Latin America and its proximity to top cannabis producer Morocco.

# Rugby: World Cup-winning lock Jean Kleyn will join the Springboks in Edinburgh as a replacement for Ruan Nortjé, who suffered a leg injury at training yesterday. Thirty-one-year-old Kleyn, who earned his seventh Test cap for the Boks in the World Cup final against New Zealand in France last year, returns to the national team for the first time this season. Nortjé made a huge impact for the Boks who won the Rugby Championship this year. Coach Rassie Erasmus will name his matchday team to face Scotland tomorrow.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-48-cents and the euro at 18-rand-79-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-55-cents and Bitcoin trades at 75-thousand-26-dollars-79-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-664-dollars-44-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 74-dollars-22-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….