News 17:00

BULLETIN 2 November 5 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# President Cyril Ramaphosa calls for public-centred leadership ahead of the elections
# Angelo Agrizzi is ordered to pay the State 1.6-billion-rand linked to the Bosasa corruption scandal
# And: Iranian negotiators leave Doha as a draft peace proposal circulates

# President Cyril Ramaphosa has reiterated the importance of the upcoming local government elections in strengthening South Africa’s democracy. Speaking at the Premier Soccer League offices in Johannesburg, Ramaphosa discussed the growing number of political parties, with more than 540 registered on the IEC database. Ramaphosa says restoring public trust requires leadership that puts communities first. He called on political parties to prioritise the interests of citizens above those of individual leaders:

Meanwhile, the University of the Western Cape has raised concern over the growing normalisation of political violence in South Africa ahead of the elections. According to police, 45 political attacks were recorded between January and September, resulting in at least 43 deaths. A further nine politically linked killings were reported in October alone. University’s Lisa Thompson says these figures represent the highest levels recorded and indicate that political violence is becoming a persistent feature of South African politics rather than declining:

# Former Bosasa chief operating officer Angelo Agrizzi has been ordered by the High Court in Pretoria to pay the state more than 1.6-billion-rand linked to unlawful benefits from Bosasa’s corrupt activities. Agrizzi was convicted last year on three counts of corruption and one of money laundering for his involvement in a corruption network that secured government contracts through bribes. Judge Mokhina Mosopa found that Agrizzi benefited from the company’s bribery network and failed to fully disclose his assets, including properties in South Africa and Italy.

# Iranian negotiators have left talks with Qatari mediators in Doha, as diplomatic efforts continue to end the war with the United States. An official briefed on the discussions says the delegation departed on Sunday, but not because of difficulties in the negotiations. A draft proposal for a possible agreement is now being circulated for feedback, with another meeting still possible. Iran says its seven-step plan includes reopening the strategically important Strait of Hormuz and ending the US naval blockade. Tehran says the waterway cannot reopen until its demands are met.

# Tennis: Former world number one Juan Carlos Ferrero, who previously coached his Spanish countryman Carlos Alcaraz and Germany’s Alexander Zverev, joined Ben Shelton’s team. The 24-year-old American is currently fourth in the world rankings. Forty-six-year-old Ferrero coached Alcaraz from when he was 16 in 2019, helping him to clinch two French Open, two Wimbledon, two US Open and eight Masters One-thousand titles until they split last year. Shelton beat Alcaraz in the quarterfinals of this year’s US Open before losing to Zverev in the final.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-64-cents against the rand and the euro at 18-rand-66-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-33-cents and Bitcoin trades at 77-thousand-669-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-899-dollars-36-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 112-dollars-82-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….