News 11:00

BULLETIN 31 October 11 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The US is criticised for drastically capping refugee admissions and prioritising white South Africans
# OUTA has found that Parliament is ineffective in holding the executive to account
# And soccer: Desiree Ellis commits to Banyana Banyana until 2029

# US president Donald Trump’s administration has been criticised for its decision to significantly cut the number of refugees admitted to the US every year to seven-thousand-500. Last year’s ceiling set under former president Joe Biden’s administration was 125-thousand. Trump says priority will be given to white Afrikaners from South Africa and other victims of illegal or unjust discrimination. The International Refugee Assistance Project says the administration is once again politicising a humanitarian programme by privileging Afrikaners while continuing to ban thousands of refugees who have already been vetted and approved.

# The DA is calling on president Cyril Ramaphosa to urgently engage the African Union to begin the crucial process of negotiating a ceasefire between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces in Sudan. The conflict, which began in April 2023, has already killed 20-thousand people. The DA’s Ryan Smith says by failing to address the RSF’s genocidal intent, South Africa comes across as grossly hypocritical in light of its response to similar conflicts in other parts of the world:

# The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse says the seventh Parliament has the tools and public backing to rebuild trust in democratic institutions, but oversight often lacks impact. The organisation’s seventh annual parliamentary oversight report reveals that many committee findings on corruption and mismanagement often fail to lead to tangible action. OUTA’s Rachel Fischer recommends six reforms, including stronger accountability, better committee collaboration, and performance scorecards, to ensure Parliament turns its work into real results for citizens:

# Soccer: Desiree Ellis will coach Banyana Banyana for another four years after extending her contract until 2029. She took over from her predecessor, Vera Pauw, after the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. Safa president Danny Jordaan says Ellis can now start preparing South Africa for next year’s Women’s Africa Cup of Nations after they qualified earlier this week. He says they also have to rebuild Banyana and look at alternatives and younger players for the future.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-31-cents and the euro at 20-rand-1-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-74-cents and Bitcoin trades at 109-thousand-455-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-and-11-dollars-59-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 63-dollars-97-cents a barrel.

# And finally: Time Out has revealed its list of the 20 Friendliest Cities in the World for 2025, with Cape Town making the cut. These cities stand out for their warmth, hospitality, and welcoming spirit. The global survey discovered that people from Porto, Portugal, were more likely to call their city friendly than anyone else in the world. Porto also came fourth for beauty and 12th for happiness. Second is Bilbao in Spain, with Colombia’s Medellin in third. Cape Town is fourth, with Lagos in Nigeria fifth.

Stay tuned for more news………….