News 07:00

BULLETIN 6 November 7 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The results of the US elections are starting to come in
# Minister Lamola says South Africa wants to strengthen trade and defence ties with Britain
# And motorsport: The final MotoGP race is moved from Valencia to Barcelona

# Results from the US presidential have started to trickle in. Vice president Kamala Harris has become the latest Democrat to win Vermont, a party stronghold, while former president Donald Trump has won Indiana and Kentucky, both Republican states. The former president had 154 electoral votes with the vice president on 81 a short while ago. The presidential candidate needs at least 270 electoral votes to win. In one of her final interviews, Harris told SiriusXM that she will be a president that unites America:

# International Relations and Cooperation minister Ronald Lamola says South Africa is committed to strengthening trade, investment, and defence cooperation with Britain. He hosted his UK counterpart, Foreign Secretary David Lammy, in Cape Town on Tuesday. South Africa is Britain’s biggest trading partner on the African continent, with bilateral trade between the two countries totalling about 133-billion-rand in 2023. Lamola says the countries’ trade and investment relationship had stagnated due to the Covid-19 pandemic and other challenges, and that it needed a reset.

# The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse opposes Eskom’s proposed 66-percent electricity price hike over three years, calling it unaffordable and harmful to the economy. They urge the power utility to focus on cutting costs and improving efficiency and focus on clean energy. OUTA’s Estienne Ruthnam urges the National Energy Regulator of South Africa to reject the increases to prevent further economic hardship for consumers and businesses alike: 

# Acting Gauteng premier and Roads and Transport MEC Kedibone Diale-Tlabela says police have been given a mandate to focus on food manufacturers, as cases of suspected food poisoning are on the rise. She visited the family of two pupils from Sonqoba Primary School in Katlehong, who died after allegedly consuming snacks from a local spaza shop and food supplied by the school. Diale-Tlabela says communities need to be wary of allowing their children to consume foods from spaza shops:

# The ANC has urged calm in Mozambique amid escalating post-election unrest and claims of fraud by opposition leader Venâncio Mondlane. He alleges surviving an assassination attempt in Sandton, Johannesburg. ANC spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri confirmed ongoing talks with Mozambique’s ruling Frelimo party, encouraging a peaceful resolution. With protests planned for Thursday and key routes blocked, the ANC emphasised the importance of regional stability.

# Motorsport: The season’s final MotoGP race will take place in the Spanish city of Barcelona next weekend after being moved from the flood-ravaged eastern city Valencia. The death toll has now risen to at least 217, with many people still missing. Barcelona hosted the Catalunya Grand Prix earlier this season. The race, which will be held in solidarity with the community of Valencia, will decide the championship. Local rider Jorge Martin is leading defending champion Francesco Bagnaia of Italy by 24 points on top of the standings.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-63-cents and the euro at 19-rand-3-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-82-cents and Bitcoin trades at 72-thousand-93-dollar-20-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-743-dollars-79-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 75-dollars-11-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….