News 06:00

BULLETIN 29 November 6 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# President Ramaphosa calls for continued economic transformation to address inequality
# The FF Plus welcomes the breakthrough in the BELA Act dispute
# And Australian lawmakers pass rules to ban under 16s from social media platforms

# President Cyril Ramaphosa has called for continued economic transformation to tackle inequality. Speaking to the National Council of Provinces, he highlighted ongoing efforts to rebuild the economy and empower small businesses are essential for reducing poverty and creating opportunities for all South Africans. Ramaphosa emphasised the need for inclusive growth, land reform, improved access to services, and job creation to address systemic disparities:

# The Freedom Front Plus has welcomed the settlement agreement reached at the National Economic Development and Labour Council over the Basic Education Laws Amendment Act. Basic Education minister Siviwe Gwarube and Solidarity have signed a bilateral settlement agreement addressing concerns over Sections four and five of the BELA Act. The sections relate to admissions and language policies at individual schools. The FF Plus’, Wynand Boshoff, says the department first needs to develop policy documents before anything can be implemented:

# The DA says the City of Johannesburg’s water plan is inadequate and lacks immediate relief for residents facing water shortages. The party argues the city’s response, which only includes action in February next year, is not enough. The DA’s Belinda Kayser-Echeozonjoku says the plan offers no short-term solutions, fails to address serious leaks in 22 reservoirs, and lacks a clear strategy for water tankers in affected areas:

# Australian lawmakers passed landmark rules to ban under 16s from social media, approving one of the world’s toughest crackdowns on popular sites like Facebook, Instagram, and X. The legislation ordering social media firms to take “reasonable steps” to prevent young teens from having accounts was passed in the Senate with 34 votes in favour and 19 against. The new rules will now return to the lower house, where lawmakers already backed the bill on Wednesday, for one final approval before it is all but certain to become law.

# Tennis: French Open champion Iga Swiatek escaped with a one-month suspension for a positive doping test after convincing the International Tennis Integrity Agency that it had not been intentional. The Polish player tested positive for the prohibited substance trimetazidine in an out-of-competition sample in August. The agency accepted that the positive test was caused by contamination.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-11-cents and the euro at 19-rand-12-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-99-cents and Bitcoin trades at 95-thousand-863-dollar-55-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-638-dollars-50-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 73-dollars-9-cents a barrel.

# And finally: Award-winning South African film director Ian Gabriel’s political thriller, Death of a Whistleblower is the opening night film of the 32nd African Diaspora International Film Festival in New York today. The film starring Rob van Vuuren and Noxolo Dlamini is set against the backdrop of a dangerous conspiracy involving military corruption and illicit arms trafficking. The film is part of an eclectic programme of 65 films including 12 from South Africa that will be featured in the festival.

Stay tuned for more news………….