News 06:00

BULLETIN 20 November 6 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# There is a strong US presence at the B20 summit despite Trump’s G20 boycott
# Malusi Gigaba has stepped aside
# And rugby: The Boks expect their toughest tour match against Ireland on Saturday

# The B20 business summit in Sandton opened with a strong US presence, despite president Donald Trump barring US government officials from attending the G20 leaders’ summit this weekend. According to News24, former Finance minister Trevor Manuel said global systems are broken, calling for countries to work together. President Cyril Ramaphosa earlier said the G20 will proceed as planned, even without Trump. Key leaders, including Russian president Vladimir Putin and Chinese president Xi Jinping, will also be absent.

# Former Public Enterprises minister, Malusi Gigaba, has voluntarily stepped aside from his ANC responsibilities. This comes after being charged with fraud and corruption over Transnet’s controversial multibillion-rand locomotive procurement deal. Gigaba, now co-chair of Parliament’s joint standing committee on Defence, is the fifth accused in the long-running corruption case involving former Transnet executives. The ANC has welcomed Gigaba’s decision, saying he has demonstrated respect for organisational processes and acted to protect the integrity and reputation of the movement.

# Businessman Brown Mogotsi has been accused of misleading the Madlanga commission in Pretoria during his testimony. Evidence leader Matthew Chaskalson says Mogotsi’s claims that Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala paid bribes were a misdirection. Mogotsi also claimed he works undercover for Crime Intelligence and alleged that KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi and AmaZulu King Misuzulu kaZwelithini were working for the CIA but provided no evidence. Chaskalson warns Mogotsi’s allegations risk fuelling unverified state security conspiracy theories:

# Freedom Front Plus has criticised the Ekurhuleni Mayor Nkosindiphile Xhakaza for spending five-million-rand on G20 Social Summit venues without budget approval, while residents endure collapsing services, including prolonged electricity outages, water shortages, sewage spills, and uncollected refuse. The party’s Jennifer Glover says the party demands clarity on the funding source, Treasury approval, and protection of essential services, yet received no response. Glover says the Metro prioritises prestige over residents’ basic needs:

# The death toll from the Russian drone and missile attack on the western city of Ternopil in Ukraine has risen to 25, including three children. A total of 73 people were wounded, 15 of them children, when drones and missiles hit two blocks of flats. This is one of the deadliest Russian strikes on western Ukraine since Moscow launched a full-scale war in 2022. Russia’s Defence Ministry claims it had targeted Ukraine’s military-industrial complex and energy sector in response to Kyiv’s attacks on civilian targets.

# Rugby: The Springboks expect their toughest tour match in Dublin on Saturday when they play Ireland after victories over Japan, France, and Italy. Ireland’s year-end action started with a loss to the All Blacks and victories over Japan and the Wallabies. The two teams last met in South Africa mid-last year, where they squared their two-match series when the Irish scored a late drop-goal in the second encounter. Bok coach Rassie Erasmus is expected to announce his strongest possible team this afternoon.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-17-cents and the euro at 19-rand-83-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-42-cents and Bitcoin trades at 91-thousand-337-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-88-dollars-94-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 63-dollars-12-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….