News 06:00

BULLETIN 19 November 6 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# President Ramaphosa says food security will be one of the priorities of SA’s G20 Presidency
# Germany will provide four-thousand Artificial Intelligence-guided drones to Ukraine
# And tennis: Tennis SA launches a new tournament with a prize pool of over 200-thousand-rand

# President Cyril Ramaphosa says South Africa is committed to ending poverty, malnutrition, and hunger in line with the National Development Plan. He participated in the working session titled, Social Inclusion and the Fight Against Poverty and Hunger, at the G20 Leaders Summit in Brazil. According to the World Bank, nearly 700-million people are currently living in extreme poverty. Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for 67-percent of these people. Ramaphosa says food security will be one of the high-level priorities of South Africa’s G20 Presidency. 

# The Special Investigating Unit has obtained a preservation order against assets linked to former ANC spokesperson Pule Mabe. The order granted by the Special Tribunal bars the sale or transfer of his Steyn City house and Porsche Carrera. He is accused of procurement irregularities in a 27-million-rand Gauteng waste project. Evidence suggests non-compliance, fraud, and mismanagement of public funds. The SIU seeks to nullify the tender and recover over 25-million-rand in losses.

# North West Community Safety MEC, Wessels Morweng says plans to rescue illegal miners in a disused Stilfontein mine requires proper risk assessments before action can begin. He called for cooperation to clear the site and deploy machinery safely. An intergovernmental team and community leaders are devising a strategy to resolve the four-week stand-off after the police cut off the food and water supply. Morweng reaffirmed the government did not send anyone underground to engage in illegal mining:

# The GOOD Party has reiterated its disappointment that Big Concerts and Home Affairs minister Leon Schreiber have not addressed their concerns about the upcoming Chris Brown concert. Secretary-general Brett Herron says the party has urged Schreiber to declare Brown an undesirable person due to his history of gender-based violence. Herron has emphasised the need for constructive dialogue and taking gender-based violence seriously:

# Germany says it is delivering four-thousand AI-guided drones to Ukraine. Berlin has been the second-biggest supplier of military aid to Ukraine in its fight against Russia’s invasion. Defence minister Boris Pistorius says the drones being provided were directed and supported by artificial intelligence and they could take out the enemy’s electronic drone defences. The drones could be deployed 30 to 40 kilometres behind the front line. Along some parts of the front line in Ukraine, such a distance would reach into Russian territory.

# Tennis: Tennis South Africa has launched the American Express National Club Championships, with a prize pool of over 200-thousand-rand. The tournament will feature both men and women in a doubles team competition. It will include provincial playoffs between January and July 2025, with the winners qualifying for the national finals at Sun City in the North West from the 29th of August to the first of September. Tennis SA president, Gavin Crookes, says this event will inspire a new generation of players and invigorate tennis clubs nationwide. 

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-94-cents and the euro at 19-rand. One British pound costs 22-rand-74-cents and Bitcoin trades at 90-thousand-759-dollar-60-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-610-dollars-56-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 73-dollars-14-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….