News 15:00

BULLETIN 12 November 3 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Unemployment is down to 32.1-percent in the third quarter of this year
# Water shortages halt in-person hearings at the Constitutional Court
# And rugby: An Irish winger says they are ready to bounce back after their loss to the All Blacks

# The official unemployment rate decreased by 1.4-percentage points from 33.5-percent in the second quarter to 32.1-percent in the third quarter of this year. According to Statistics SA’s quarterly labour force survey there was an increase of 294-thousand in the number of employed people and a decrease of 373-thousand in the number of unemployed. The not economically active population increased to 16.5-million. The expanded unemployment rate in the third quarter decreased by 0.7 of a percentage point to 41.9-percent. This number includes people who have stopped looking for a job.

# The Constitutional Court in Johannesburg has suspended in-person hearings due to an unreliable water supply affecting its operations since 1 November. According to the court, leaks in the building’s water system have been repaired, daily refills from the City of Johannesburg are not guaranteed, as the backup water tank only lasts one day. The Office of the Chief Justice says it is in ongoing discussions with city authorities and Rand Water to resolve the issue promptly.

# About 13-thousand-831 suspects were arrested in nationwide Shanela operations last week. They were appended for crimes including murder, rape, gender-based violence, illegal possession of firearms and drunk driving. Police spokesperson, Amanda van Wyk, says one-thousand-597 illegal foreign nationals were also arrested. She adds that 151 firearms were confiscated in the past week, 52 more than the previous week:

# United Nations secretary-general António Guterres has urged leaders at COP 29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, to deliver on climate finance promises. Guterres emphasised the need for global emission cuts of up to nine-percent annually. He highlights urgent needs in developing countries, especially climate funding, stressing that 80-percent of the global population supports stronger climate action for true climate justice:

# Rugby: Irish winger Mack Hansen says they are ready to bounce back after last weekend’s loss to the All Blacks that saw them losing the top position in the world rankings. That also ended their 19-match winning streak at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. The Irish take on Argentina at the same venue on Friday night. Hansen says people are always very eager to jump on you when you’re down, buty they are ready to right a lot of wrongs against Los Pumas.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-3-cents and the euro at 19-rand-15-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-12-cents and Bitcoin trades at 87-thousand-11-dollars. Gold sells at two-thousand-596-dollars-21-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 68-dollars-50-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….