News 06:00

BULLETIN 28 October 6 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# President Ramaphosa says South Africa’s exit from the grey list bodes well for the economy
# Israel lifts the state of emergency for the areas near the Gaza border
# And cricket: South Africa and Pakistan face off in the first T20 in Rawalpindi

# President Cyril Ramaphosa says South Africa’s exit from the Financial Action Task Force grey list bodes well for the integrity and reputation of the country’s financial system. In 2023, South Africa was placed on the grey list for failing to meet certain international standards. In his weekly newsletter, Ramaphosa says the country’s exit from the grey list demonstrates that the anti-money laundering system is beginning to act against corruption and other financial crimes. He adds that much work remains to be done to reduce and prevent financial crimes.

# Special Investigating Unit head, Andy Mothibi, says as the host nation, South Africa is uniquely positioned to leverage its G20 presidency to tackle local and international corruption challenges. The third G20 Anti-Corruption Working Group meeting is taking place in Mpumalanga this week. It is being co-chaired by Mothibi and Brazil’s Marcelo Pontes Vianna. Mothibi says he is confident that the working group will agree on all four priorities: strengthening public sector integrity, increasing asset recovery efficiency, inclusive societal participation, and whistle-blower protection:

# A 38-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the murder of two young women in Mamelodi East, Pretoria, over the weekend. The bodies of the women in their early 20s were found on the side of the road on Sunday with gunshot wounds to their heads. Police spokesperson Tintswalo Sibeko says a third woman was shot during the same incident and is receiving medical treatment in hospital:

# AfriForum and the family of 21-year-old Dewald Beetge are urging South Africans to wear white today to protest rural violence. Beetge remains in critical condition after being shot execution-style during a farm attack near Melville, KwaZulu-Natal, on 15 October. AfriForum’s Jacques Broodryk condemned the brutality, calling it a wake-up call for the government to prioritise rural safety, as no arrests have been made:

# Israel has lifted the state of emergency for areas near the border with Gaza for the first time since Hamas’s October 2023 attacks. Defence minister Israel Katz says the decision reflects the new security reality in the south of the country and came as a ceasefire that began on 10 October largely continued to hold. The state of emergency, which was active up to 80 kilometres from Gaza in southern Israel, granted authorities special powers to maintain public order and ensure civilian safety.

# Cricket: South Africa and Pakistan’s men face off in the first of three T20s in Rawalpindi today after they drew the Test series one-all. The Proteas will be captained by Donovan Ferreira while Aiden Markram is rested, and David Miller sustained a leg injury after being named captain. Matthew Breetzke was named ODI captain. The second T20 will be played in Lahore on Friday, and the final one in the same city the next day. The ODIs will all be played in Faisalabad from next Tuesday.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-21-cents and the euro at 20-rand-5-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-96-cents and Bitcoin trades at 113-thousand-918-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-992-dollars-77-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 65-dollars-3-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….