News 08:00

BULLETIN 31 October 8 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Minister Gwarube welcomes the additional allocations to support education
# The mayor of Joburg assures residents that their taps won’t run dry
# And Trump says his supporters are not garbage

# Basic Education minister Siviwe Gwarube has welcomed the allocations made towards the education sector in the Medium Term Budget Policy Statement. Finance minister Enoch Godongwana has allocated a further 376 million rand to the education sector, supporting targeted initiatives to build, improve and maintain infrastructure within the sector. Gwarube says budget pressures faced by provincial education departments continue to pose a significant threat to the delivery of quality education:

Meanwhile, the Freedom Front Plus says it appears that the blind optimism and vague promises of the past have made way for a more pragmatic perspective on South Africa’s economic and fiscal problems. The FF Plus says one positive aspect is that the minister realises prioritisation is needed to establish a viable and stable fiscal framework to bring about growth. It adds that the government of national unity has sparked hope that positive changes are indeed possible.

# Johannesburg mayor Dada Morero says there are no indications the metro will experience day zero despite the water challenges. The metro faces a severe water crisis due to ongoing drought conditions, exacerbated by climate change, high levels of non-revenue water, illegal connections, and infrastructure challenges. Morero says water consumption was outpacing supply due to population expansion, and as a result, the existing bulk water infrastructure was under strain:

# Former US president Donald Trump says his supporters are the heart and soul of America. He spoke at a rally in Wisconsin wearing an orange safety vest. This is as his campaign continues to seize on comments made by president Joe Biden which seemingly referred to Trump supporters as garbage. Biden claims he was referring to a comic, who called Puerto Rico a floating island of garbage at a Trump rally at the weekend. Trump says his supporters are far higher quality than Biden:

# Tennis: Russian fifth seed Daniil Medvedev has been knocked out of the Paris Masters, after suffering a, 6-4, 2-6, 7-6, defeat to Australian Alexei Popyrin in the second round. This is Medvedev’s third consecutive opening-round loss in Paris. Bulgarian eighth seed Grigor Dimitrov beat Argentina’s Tomas Martin Etcheverry, 6-7, 6-3, 7-5, to keep alive his chances of qualifying for the season-ending ATP Finals in Turin. British number one Jack Draper beat American Taylor Fritz, 7-6, 4-6, 6-4, to reach the third round.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-67-cents and the euro at 19-rand-16-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-89-cents and Bitcoin trades at 72-thousand-251-dollars-40-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-783-dollars-75-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 72-dollars-60-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….