News 09:00

BULLETIN 21 November 9 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Paul Mashatile and Emmanuel Macron will honour French anti-apartheid activists
# Cosatu welcomes the repo rate cut as a much-needed relief for workers
# And the UN says the civilian deaths in Ukraine have surged past last year’s toll

# Deputy president Paul Mashatile will host French president Emmanuel Macron today, to commemorate the French citizens who played a role in the fight against apartheid in South Africa. Macron is set to arrive in the country today for the G20 Leaders’ Summit. The two will take part in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Freedom Park Heritage Site and Museum in Pretoria. The Presidency says the ceremony follows Mashatile’s recent successful visit to France, which further strengthened the historically warm relations between the two countries.

# The Congress of South African Trade Unions has welcomed the South African Reserve Bank’s decision to provide workers and the economy badly needed relief. This comes as the bank’s monetary policy committee has decided to reduce the repo rate by 25 basis points, bringing it down to 6.75-percent. Cosatu’s spokesperson, Matthew Parks, says with inflation consistently falling and currently at 3.6-percent, there is space to provide further relief to the nation in the new year:

# The South African Federation of Trade Unions says it is not surprised by what it describes as the timid 25 basis points repo rate cut to 6.75-percent. The rate cut comes amid improved economic sentiment, supported by stronger revenue for the National Treasury, an S&P Global upgrade. Saftu’s Asive Dyani says there is no reason South Africa should not be aggressively cutting rates in the context of falling inflation, stagnating investment, declining real incomes, and a humanitarian crisis in working-class communities:

# The United Nations Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs has warned that Russia’s growing use of long-range weapons is exposing Ukraine to more danger. An estimated 14-thousand-534 civilians, including 745 children, have been killed since the war began. Some 3.7-million Ukrainians remain displaced within the country, and nearly six million are refugees. The department’s Europe director, Kayoto Gotoh, says civilian deaths in Ukraine this year have already surpassed the total for 2024:

# Cricket: Indian captain Shubman Gill will only play in the second Test against South Africa if he’s 100-percent fit. He suffered a neck injury early in the first Test in Kolkata, which the Proteas won by 30 runs. Gill accompanied his teammates to Guwahati, where the final match starts tomorrow, but will reportedly not play if it risks aggravating the injury. The Proteas are aiming for their first series victory in India in 25 years after securing their first Test victory in the country since 2010.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-23-cents and the euro at 19-rand-89-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-55-cents and Bitcoin trades at 85-thousand-584-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-59-dollars-6-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 61-dollars-96-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….