News 17:00

BULLETIN 12 November 5 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# South Africa supports political stability in Mozambique
# Rugby: Rassie once again plays the guessing game before the England clash
# And the South Korean president takes up golf to prepare for Donald Trump’s second term

# International Relations and Cooperation minister, Ronald Lamola, says government is committed to supporting political stability in Mozambique. He welcomed the return of normalcy at Mpumalanga’s Lebombo border amid ongoing protests in the neighbouring country. Briefing the media, Lamola highlighted the importance of validating election results transparently. He says government remains committed to fostering regional peace and stability through cooperation with neighbouring countries:

# Transport minister Barbara Creecy has announced that Transnet’s interventions to boost efficiencies at Cape Town and Saldanha Bay ports are yielding positive results. During her visit, she highlighted the introduction of 75 new pieces of equipment for loading and offloading ships. She says a new booking system for trucks will further enhance timely unloading, though concerns remain about the ports’ overall performance.

# CapeNature and the National Prosecuting Authority have brought 109 cases of succulent poaching to court in the past three financial years. The DA’s Dave Bryant says this has led to 57 guilty findings, while ten cases resulted in acquittals, and 42 remain active. He says penalties for these crimes have ranged from fines of 500-rand up to 1-million-rand, with prison sentences spanning from 150 days to two years:

# Rugby: Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus has again decided to keep the opponents guessing for as long as possible, opting to only name his team for Saturday’s clash with England at Twickenham on Thursday. Last week, he also named the match-day 23 for the match against Scotland two days prior. Erasmus is expected to choose his strongest available team after making 11 changes for the Scotland Test. There is particular interest in whether he will opt for Handré Pollard or Manie Libbok in the number 10 jersey.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-3-cents and the euro at 19-rand-16-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-11-cents and Bitcoin trades at 86-thousand-38-dollars. Gold sells at two-thousand-607-dollars-88-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 68-dollars-47-cents a barrel.

# And finally: South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol began practicing golf again for the first time in eight years, in preparation for golf diplomacy with American president-elect Donald Trump. Golf has long proved to be a reliable pathway to Trump, whose golf courses rake in hundreds of millions of dollars for his business empire. There is rising alarm about North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and the threat he poses to the US and its allies, while South Korea has emerged as a strong American partner.

Stay tuned for more news………….