News 17:00

BULLETIN 10 November 5 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Public Service Commission reports progress on the Bill relating to the commission
# A pilot is killed in a crop-spraying helicopter crash near Patensie
# And, Discovery Bank is hit with a three-million-rand fine over non-compliance

# The Public Service Commission has announced significant progress on the Public Service Commission Bill, now before the National Council of Provinces. Commissioner Anele Gxoyiya noted that Gauteng, the Western Cape, North West, the Eastern Cape, and the Free State completed public hearings, with other provinces to finish by month-end. He explained the bill aims to establish an independent PSC Secretariat, strengthen oversight and legally obligate executives to act on PSC recommendations:

# A 43-year-old female crop duster pilot has died after a helicopter crashed onto the Roodegrond farm near Patensie in the Eastern Cape. Police say the helicopter struck power lines, killing the pilot instantly. An inquest docket has been opened to determine the cause. Authorities have withheld the pilot’s identity pending formal identification. Local farmers, emergency services and a private security company responded to the scene.

# The Prudential Authority has imposed administrative sanctions and a three-million-rand financial penalty on Discovery Bank for non-compliance with the Financial Intelligence Centre Act. The bank was cited for inadequate anti-money-laundering controls, including failing to report 24 suspicious transactions on time and not providing mandatory staff training to many employees, including senior managers. Discovery Bank stated it has cooperated and remediated the issues, noting no actual money laundering was found.

# Syrian president Ahmed al-Sharaa arrived in the US where he is due to meet his counterpart, Donald Trump, at the White House for the first such visit by a Syrian head of state since independence in 1946. Al-Sharaa became the interim president in January after the rebel forces he led successfully toppled the decades-long rule of former president Bashar al-Assad the previous month. The main focus of the meeting is expected to be Syria formally joining the US-led coalition against the Islamic State group.

# Soccer: Manchester City has moved up to second place on the Premier League table with their 3-0 victory over reigning champions Liverpool at the Etihad Stadium. Erling Haaland scored his 99th Premier League goal, with Nico Gonzalez and Jeremy Doku also on the scoresheet. City is now only four points behind leaders Arsenal following their 2-all draw against Sunderland. Manager Pep Guardiola, who took charge of his one thousandth game, says he is not thinking about the title:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-18-cents and the euro at 19-rand-89-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-65-cents and Bitcoin trades at 106-thousand-113-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-103-dollars-47-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 63-dollars-78-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….