News 08:00

BULLETIN 28 November 8 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The IMF urges the government to implement its economic reforms ambitiously
# BOSA gets more than 12-thousand signatures to make the Sexual Offenders Register public
# And cricket: England secure a T20 series win over the Protea Women

# The International Monetary Fund sees the government of national unity as an opportunity to place South Africa’s economy on a path toward higher and more inclusive growth. The IMF published its annual policy review on the country on Wednesday. It says the government must implement its economic reforms ambitiously while arguing for priority to be given to reforms in the electricity and logistics sectors. The IMF warns that if reforms are delayed or face political resistance, the newfound confidence could weaken, increasing borrowing costs and eroding growth. 

 # Build One South Africa’s petition for the National Register of Sexual Offenders to be made public and readily accessible, has now reached over 12-thousand signatures. The country is currently marking 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children. BOSA’s spokesperson, Roger Solomons, says making the National Register of Sexual Offenders publicly available will be a key tool for keeping perpetrators accountable while safeguarding potential victims in the future:

# The National Prosecuting Authority has requested the police to conduct further investigations, into the allegations of child pornography against the University of Cape Town law professor Pierre de Vos. The allegations come after De Vos tweeted a video on his X account, previously known as Twitter, in September of a video of alleged child pornography. He stated that his account was hacked. AfriForum’s Private Prosecutions Unit says the initial decision by the NPA not to prosecute was premature, irrational, and based on an embarrassing and deliberately incomplete investigation. 

# The South African government has welcomed the brokered ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon, saying it hopes a permanent cessation of hostilities will follow. The 60-day US-backed ceasefire, which started yesterday, will see Israel pull out of southern Lebanon and Hezbollah will move its fighters and heavy weaponry north of the Litani River. The Department of International Relations and Cooperation’s spokesperson, Chrispin Phiri, says they call on all parties to fully adhere to the ceasefire deal:

# Cricket: England Women recorded an emphatic 36-run win over South Africa in the second T20 in Benoni, to clinch the three-match series with a game to spare. Danni Wyatt-Hodge scored 78, and Nat Sciver-Brunt scored an unbeaten 67, as the victors posted 204 for four, their third-highest score in T20. In reply, South Africa was restricted to 168 for six with Sarah Glenn taking four wickets. England will look to complete a series clean-sweep in the final T20 in Centurion on Saturday.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-21-cents and the euro at 19-rand-22-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-7-cents and Bitcoin trades at 95-thousand-506-dollars-31-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-627-dollars-85-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 72-dollars-73-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….