News 17:00

BULLETIN 22 November 5 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# North West’s legislature monitors the progress in the rescue efforts of illegal miners in Stilfontein
# South Africa’s 175-million-rand tourist safety programme is criticised
# And tennis: Four teams remain in the running for the coveted Davis Cup title

# The North West legislature’s portfolio committee on Community Safety today monitored progress in the rescue efforts for illegal miners refusing to resurface from an abandoned mine in Stilfontein. They conducted an oversight visit to ensure all stakeholders, including police and rescue teams, are fulfilling their roles. While police assessments are still underway, more than one-thousand-400 miners have surfaced so far. The committee’s Freddy Sonakile told the media discussions are ongoing about the future prevention of similar incidents:

# South Africa’s 175-million-rand tourist protection programme faces widespread criticism over its cost and lack of monitor retention. While supporters highlight its potential for crime reduction and job creation, critics argue it is ineffective without retaining trained tourism monitors beyond the 12-month training period. Business Tech reports that the programme, deploying monitors to patrol key attractions and assist tourists, has been questioned for insufficient data on its impact. Despite challenges, the initiative aims to enhance safety in a sector crucial to South Africa’s economy.

# China reiterated calls for calm and restraint by all parties in the Ukraine war after Russia confirmed it fired an experimental hypersonic ballistic missile. Foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian called on all parties to work to de-escalate the situation through dialogue and consultation, and create conditions for an early ceasefire. Russian president Vladimir Putin said the conflict in Ukraine had characteristics of a global war, and did not rule out strikes on Western countries.

# Tennis: Four teams remain in the running for the Davis Cup title in Málaga, Spain. The Netherlands will face Germany in tonight’s first semifinal after victories over Spain and Canada, respectively. Defending champion Italy will play 28-time champion Australia in tomorrow’s second semifinal. Italy beat Argentina 2-1, while Australia defeated the United States. The winners of Sunday’s final will share prize money of 48.4-million-rand, and the losing finalists 29-million-rand. America still holds the record of 32 titles in the competition since its inception in 1900.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-3-cents and the euro at 18-rand-79-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-57-cents and Bitcoin trades at 98-thousand-354-dollars. Gold sells at two-thousand-700-dollars-54-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 73-dollars-21-cents a barrel.

# And finally: South Africa leads the United Nations list for sexual exploitation and abuse in peacekeeping operations. The UN revealed over 700 paternity claims since 2006, with 85-percent linked to military peacekeepers. Of these, 111 were claimed against South African troops. UN secretary general Antonio Guterres called on member states to address paternity and child support issues. He says South Africa vowed to work with the UN to resolve these claims:

Stay tuned for more news………….