News 06:00

BULLETIN 21 November 6 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The USA will attend the G20 Leaders’ Summit
# Lesetja Kganyago warns that the strong rand may be temporary
# And rugby: A new-look All Blacks team is named for the clash in Cardiff

# President Cyril Ramaphosa says South Africa has received a notice from the United States that it has changed its mind about attending the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Johannesburg this weekend. US president Donald Trump’s administration had said it would not attend the summit, alleging that there is a white genocide targeting Afrikaner farmers in South Africa. Ramaphosa says discussions are ongoing on how best they can participate in the summit:

Meanwhile, Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese says the G20 Leaders’ Summit is an important gathering, bringing together the countries that drive the world’s economies. He arrived in South Africa yesterday. Albanese is the first Australian prime minister to visit the country since 2013. He says at a time of global uncertainty, Australia needs to be working with its international partners to tackle the shared challenges and opportunities ahead:

# South African Reserve Bank governor Lesetja Kganyago has cautioned that the rand’s recent strength may be temporary and stressed the need for continued structural reforms to maintain price stability. Kganyago highlighted that progress such as the country’s credit rating upgrade and exit from the Financial Action Task Force grey list is encouraging, but further reforms are essential to support economic growth, manage debt sustainably, and ensure inflation stays close to the three-percent target over the medium term:

# Special Investigating Unit head, Andy Mothibi, says some officials implicated in the Tembisa Hospital corruption scandal have voluntarily returned the stolen money. An interim SIU report released in September revealed three coordinated syndicates responsible for the looting of over two-billion-rand from the hospital. Officials from the Gauteng Department of Health and Tembisa Hospital allegedly benefited from corrupt payments that facilitated the irregular appointment of service providers. Mothibi told News24 that he is pleased to see the report is having the desired impact.

# Nigerian authorities have shut schools in five districts in the central Kwara state, fearing they could be targets of armed gangs after a deadly attack on a church in the state earlier in the week. Gunmen attacked the church, killing at least two people and kidnapping the pastor and some worshippers. Nigeria has witnessed a spate of attacks by gunmen, including the kidnapping of 25 schoolgirls from a boarding school in Kebbi. The country is under scrutiny from US president Donald Trump, who earlier threatened military action over the treatment of Christians in the country.

# Rugby: All Blacks coach Scott Robertson made sweeping changes to his team for tomorrow’s Test against Wales in Cardiff. This follows their humiliating loss to England last week. Only two players remain in the starting-15 – captain and lock Scott Barrett, and blindside flanker Simon Parker. New Zealand last lost to Wales in 1953, but Robertson says they won’t underestimate the opposition. Wales’ victory over Japan by a single point last weekend gave them their first win at home in over two years.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-19-cents and the euro at 19-rand-84-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-49-cents and Bitcoin trades at 87-thousand-162-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-81-dollars-55-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 62-dollars-53-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….