News 09:00

BULLETIN 26 November 9 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The ANC welcomes the positive credit upgrade for Eskom
# The DA is going to lay criminal charges against Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla
# And Brazil’s former president Jair Bolsonaro is ordered to start his 27-year prison term

# The ANC has welcomed the decision by S&P Global Ratings to upgrade Eskom’s credit rating, saying this affirms the steady progress being made in improving the reliability and financial stability of the power utility. The ratings agency upgraded Eskom’s long-term global-scale foreign and local currency ratings to positive from stable. ANC’s national spokesperson, Mahlengi Bhengu, says this improvement directly reflects the impact of the ANC NEC Energy Action Plan of 2023, which included 264-billion-rand to strengthen Eskom’s balance sheet:

# The DA will today lay criminal charges against the MK Party Member of Parliament, Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla at the Cape Town Central Police Station. The party will file a criminal case with the South African Police Service to investigate the roles of Zuma-Sambudla, after 17 South African men were reportedly lured by members of the MK Party to fight in the war between Russia and Ukraine. The DA will also be addressing the potential foreign policy implications of the Department of International Relations and Cooperation’s silence on the matter.

# Minister of Human Settlements, Thembi Simelane, has dispatched a team to work with KwaZulu-Natal officials to assist households affected by recent heavy rains at Umshwati Municipality. According to the preliminary assessment, about 400 people have been affected, including close to 200 children and 163 females. The department’s spokesperson, Tsekiso Machike, has urged communities to refrain from building structures on flood lines or areas prone to floods:

# Brazil’s Supreme Court has ordered former right-wing president, Jair Bolsonaro, to begin serving his 27-year prison sentence for plotting an attempted coup. The 70-year-old was found guilty in September of plotting a coup in 2022 to overthrow his successor, president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Bolsonaro has been living under house arrest since August, and was taken into preventive custody on Saturday after unsuccessfully trying to cut off his electronic ankle tag. The Supreme Court justice Alexandre de Moraes ruled that no further appeals were possible.

# Soccer: Manchester City suffered their first Champions League group phase home loss in seven years after being stunned 2-0 by Bayer Leverkusen at the Etihad Stadium. Goals from captain Alejandro Grimaldo and Patrik Schick ensured a memorable victory for the Bundesliga side. Chelsea defeated 10-man Barcelona 3-0 to move into the top eight on the table, while another Premier League side, Newcastle United, suffered a 2-1 defeat to Marseille. There were also victories for Juventus, Borussia Dortmund, Benfica and Napoli.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-17-cents and the euro at 19-rand-90-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-65-cents and Bitcoin trades at 87-thousand-203-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-162-dollars a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 62-dollars-3-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….