News 07:00

BULLETIN 3 November 7 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The US intends to terminate South Africa and Rwanda’s AGOA eligibility from 2027
# A UNESCO report finds that six in seven journalist murders go unpunished
# And rugby: Erasmus names an experienced team for the Nations Championship clash against Italy

# The US intends to remove South Africa and Rwanda from duty-free access to the American market under the African Growth and Opportunity Act from January 2027. US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer says president Donald Trump has determined that both countries’ governments have engaged in practices that violate AGOA’s eligibility requirements. He cites barriers to trade and investment, corruption and concerns over national security. South Africa is the scheme’s largest beneficiary, accounting for 54-percent of all AGOA-related exports to the US and exporting roughly 300-billion-rand in goods between 2019 and 2024.

Meanwhile, the DA says South Africa’s exclusion as a beneficiary of AGOA next year was avoidable and completely unnecessary in the context of sound economic diplomacy and negotiation. DA Ryan Smith says the country’s AGOA exclusion is a blow to the economy, especially the agriculture and agro-processing, automotive manufacturing, and mining sectors:

# The Motor Industry Staff Association calls on the National Prosecuting Authority to trace assets linked to the Bosasa corruption scandal, including those held overseas. This follows an order by the High Court in Pretoria directing former Bosasa executive Angelo Agrizzi to repay 1.6-billion-rand to the state. MISA spokesperson Phakamile Hlubi-Majola says everyone who received or benefited from bribes must also be held accountable:

# The South African Human Rights Commission says Gauteng’s water crisis is being driven by systemic failures rather than a shortage of water. The commission’s investigation discovered that ageing infrastructure, high water losses, poor maintenance, electricity interruptions and insufficient storage and pumping capacity are affecting supply. Commissioner Henk Boshoff told the media the government and municipalities must take practical action to fix the problems and ensure communities have a reliable water supply:

# According to a UNESCO report, global impunity for journalist killings has risen for the first time in more than a decade. Between 2006 and 2025, over one-thousand-600 journalists were killed around the world, with close to six out of seven cases of these killings remaining judicially unresolved. In 2024 and 2025 alone, 189 journalists were killed in violent attacks, 67-percent occurred in conflict zones. Fifty of those were killed by unmanned aerial vehicles or drones across six war zones. Arab States recorded the highest verified number of cases.

# Rugby: Lock Salmaan Moerat will make his first appearance for the Springboks this year in Saturday’s Nations Championship clash against Italy in Turin. He will partner Ruan Nortjé. Up front, Jasper Wiese, Pieter-Steph du Toit and captain Siya Kolisi are the loose trio, with Thomas du Toit, Malcolm Marx and Ox Nche in the front row. In the backline, halfbacks Morné van den Berg and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu join the experienced midfield pairing of Damian de Allende and Jesse Kriel, and a back three of Ethan Hooker, Kurt-Lee Arendse and Damian Willemse.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-61-cents and the euro at 18-rand-57-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-26-cents and Bitcoin trades at 76-thousand-978-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-943-dollars-40-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 108-dollars-28-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….