News 16:00

NEWSFLASH NEWS AGENCY 17 November 4 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Minister Bheki Cele warns criminals, police will be deployed in their numbers during the festive season
# Not In My Name calls on the youth to register as voters
# And Rugby: Lukhanyo Am is the only Springbok to return to Sharks duty this weekend

# Police minister Bheki Cele says the South African Police Service and all law enforcement agencies will be out in full force to maintain law and order during the festive season. The minister today released the second quarter’s crime statistics, indicating Operation Shanela has resulted in over 226-thousand arrests, targeting organised crime. Cele also gave a firm warning to criminals and those who plan to conduct themselves outside the law, and instructed police to squeeze out criminality and all its manifestations:

Play sound: ENG CeleOnFestiveSeason

Meanwhile, the DA’s national police spokesperson, Andrew Whitfield, has called for the removal of Cele, citing failed leadership and ineffective crime management. This demand comes in the wake of concerning crime statistics presented by Cele, revealing alarming figures. The latest crime report exposed that over six-thousand murders and 13-thousand-and-90 sexual offenses, among other crimes, were recorded for the three months from July to September. Whitfield highlights the unacceptably high DNA backlog of over fifty thousand case exhibits, compromising the criminal justice system.

# Civil rights movement, Not In My Name, is calling on other civil organisations to work with the government in raising awareness about the importance of voter registration. This comes as the youth voter registration campaigns continue ahead of the voter registration weekend. The Electoral Commission will conduct a voter registration campaign at its 22-thousand-300 voting stations countrywide in preparation for the next year’s provincial and national elections. The movement’s president Siya Jentile says the youth should practice their democratic right ahead of the elections:

Play sound: ENG-JentileOnVoterRegistration

# France and Kenya have joined forces to advocate an international taxation taskforce at Cop28, aimed at securing new levies to fund climate action initiatives. Presidents William Ruto of Kenya and Emmanuel Macron of France lead this collaborative effort. Climate Home reports that the taskforce will explore levies on shipping, aviation, financial transactions, and fossil fuels. Advanced discussions are underway to expand the coalition in Dubai, with the objective of reaching consensus on specific proposals by COP30.

# Rugby: Lukhanyo Am is the only Springbok back in the Sharks’ team for tomorrow’s United Rugby Championship match against Connacht in Durban. His national teammates, hooker Bongi Mbonambi and prop Vincent Koch, have long-term knee injuries, while the team’s other Boks will only return next week. Head coach John Plumtree says the Irish opponents are very unpredictable and they realise their defense will have to be rock-solid. The Sharks are currently in 16th and last place on the log after losing all four their previous games.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-30-cents and the euro at 19-rand-89-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-74-cents and Bitcoin trades at 36-thousand-319-dollars-5-cents. Gold sells at one-thousand-990-dollars-60-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 78-dollars-42-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….