News 06:00

BULLETIN 7 November 6 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# President Ramaphosa says South Africa is diversifying its trade markets with speed
# The Koeberg Unit 2 licence is extended by 20 years
# And cricket: Quinton de Kock steers the Proteas to victory in the second ODI against Pakistan

# President Cyril Ramaphosa says part of a comprehensive response to global economic trade flow disruptions is the acceleration of the diversification of markets and products of South African exports. He answered questions in the National Assembly yesterday. Ramaphosa stated that while the government is actively engaged with both the US and the European Union on negotiating trade matters, they are also prioritising the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area and expanding export initiatives:

Meanwhile, Ramaphosa says the best way to stop illegal immigration is to secure the country’s borders. Ramaphosa said the new electronic travel authorisation system has already handled more than 200 G20 delegate applications for this month’s summit at the Nasrec Expo Centre in Johannesburg and will soon be extended to tourist visas. He warned against attacks on foreigners as the law must be followed:

# Investigating Directorate Against Corruption head, Andrea Johnson, says there was an investigation in which both National Police Commissioner, Fannie Masemola, and KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner, Nhanhla Mkhwanazi, were implicated. This was a matter arising from the Independent Police Investigative Directorate. Johnson told Parliament’s ad hoc committee that there was insufficient evidence for her to move against both of them. She also emphasised that there is no witch hunt against both Masemola and Mkhwanazi:

# Koeberg Unit 2’s operating licence has been extended by 20 years, just days before its original expiry date. The National Nuclear Regulator approved the extension after a comprehensive review process, which will allow the unit to continue operating until November 2044. This follows a similar 20-year extension granted to Unit 1 in July 2024. The approval followed a comprehensive and transparent regulatory process, including public hearings in the Northern and Western Cape. The extension ensures Koeberg continues to provide a total generation capacity of one-thousand-860 MW, which is crucial for South Africa’s energy supply.

# France’s Louvre Museum began a security audit a decade ago, but the recommended upgrades will not be completed until 2032.  The state auditor said in a report compiled before a spectacular heist last month, only 39-percent of the museum’s rooms had cameras as of 2024. The daylight robbery, in which four robbers made off with jewels worth millions, raised doubts over the credibility of the world’s most-visited museum as a guardian for its myriad works. While investigators have charged four suspects for involvement in the raid, the treasures have yet to be recovered.

# Cricket: Quinton de Kock smashed a century to steer South Africa to an eight-wicket victory against Pakistan in the second ODI in Faisalabad, and level the three-match series 1-1. Nandre Burger took four wickets as the Proteas restricted the hosts to 269 for nine. In reply, Lhuan-dre Pretorius shared a 98-run opening stand with De Kock, who scored an unbeaten 123. De Kock also shared a 153-run second-wicket partnership with Tony de Zorzi. South Africa reached the target with 59 balls to spare. The final ODI is tomorrow.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-35-cents and the euro at 20-rand-4-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-80-cents and Bitcoin trades at 101-thousand-306-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-982-dollars-45-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 63-dollars-21-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….