News 06:00

BULLETIN 24 October 6 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Ramaphosa lauds the BRICS Development Bank’s role in supporting the South 
# A terror attack on a Turkish aerospace company leaves four dead
# And the average monthly pay of South Africans now stands at 17-thousand-rand

# President Cyril Ramaphosa says the New Development Bank plays a vital role in supporting the development aspirations of countries in the Global South. Speaking at the 16th BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, he praised the bank’s contributions to the growth and development of emerging markets and developing economies under the leadership of Dilma Rousseff. Ramaphosa called for even stronger cooperation among BRICS nations to leverage the bank’s resources for sustainable development: 

# The Parliamentary Portfolio Committee for Social Development has called for an investigation into weaknesses in the Social Relief of Distress Grant’s payment system. This follows a study by two Stellenbosch University students, who found that they were enrolled for social relief grants without applying. Minister Sisisi Tolashe promised a report on the matter within 30 days:

# The City of Tshwane is implementing mitigation measures to combat ongoing power outages caused by recent storms and infrastructure damage. Key actions include prioritising repairs of high-impact network issues, accelerating tree pruning to prevent outages, deploying response teams to affected areas, and improving security measures to prevent theft and vandalism. Mayor Nasiphi Moya says city officials are committed to restoring reliable electricity supply and minimising future disruptions for residents.

# A terror attack was carried out at the Turkish Aerospace Industries headquarters on the outskirts of Ankara, leaving at least four people dead and 14 others injured. According to reports, a group of assailants arrived at the factory in a taxi, they then gained access to the building complex during a shift change. An explosive device was detonated and shots were fired. Interior minister, Ali Yerlikaya, says two of the attackers were killed. It is not clear who may be behind the attack.

# Rugby: The Bulls will again face Irish referee Eoghan Cross this weekend – the same man who gave centre David Kriel his marching orders with a red card in the United Rugby Championship match against Ospreys two weeks ago. It was rescinded later. The Pretoria team won that game despite the disruption, but a similar incident – this time against Springbok hooker Johan Grobbelaar in the match against Scarlets a week later – led to a one-point loss. The Bulls plays Benetton in Treviso tomorrow night.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-78-cents and the euro at 19-rand-18-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-97-cents and Bitcoin trades at 66-thousand-602-dollar-49-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-719-dollars-56-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 75-dollars-17-cents a barrel.

# And finally: BankservAfrica reports the average take-home pay in South Africa reached 17-thousand-171-rand last month, the highest since the inception of the BankservAfrica Take-Home Pay Index. This marks a 10.2-percent year-on-year increase. However, economist Elize Kruger noted that in real terms, adjusted for inflation, take-home pay was 14-thousand-969. Factors such as easing inflation, lower interest rates, and recent wage agreements have boosted disposable income. She stated that improved purchasing power could drive consumer spending towards year-end.

Stay tuned for more news………….