News 17:00

BULLETIN 17 November 5 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Minister Lamola affirms SA will attend the US G20 summit next year despite its absence in SA
# President Ramaphosa’s birthday is celebrated by the ANC Women’s League
# And cricket: The Proteas improve their position in the World Test Championship standings

# International Relations minister Ronald Lamola says South Africa will participate in the US G20 presidency next year, despite the US missing this weekend’s G20 meeting. Speaking on summit preparations, Lamola emphasised South Africa’s commitment to diplomatic engagement, stating that differences with the US should be addressed at the table. He stressed the importance of open communication channels, bilateral negotiations, and confronting issues directly as part of effective diplomacy:

# President Cyril Ramaphosa is today celebrating is 73rd birthday, as he embarks on a week that will see the culmination of South Africa’s year-long G20 Presidency. The ANC Women’s League is celebrating the day with him and wishes his leadership to be strengthened with wisdom and resilience. The party’s Nokuthula Nqaba says they honour his steadfast leadership, commitment to unity, and dedication to gender equality and women’s empowerment. Nqaba says his vision for a just, inclusive, and prosperous South Africa continues to inspire hope.

# The DA says the government needs an affordable energy plan that can fix the power crisis now. The party argues Electricity and Energy minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa’s new nuclear plan is too expensive and unlikely to solve current power shortages. It also raised concerns about Koeberg’s outdated cost estimates and unit two’s paper-based licensing. The DA’s Kevin Mileham urges Ramokgopa to focus on real, immediate solutions to expand the grid and support new energy producers:

#  Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has signed a deal with France to obtain 100 Rafale warplanes. This comes amid efforts to bolster the country’s long-term military capacity to fight Russia’s invasion. Zelensky is visiting Paris for talks with counterpart Emmanuel Macron while heavy Russian attacks on Ukraine have increased in recent weeks and Moscow has reported ground advances in the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region. Zelensky said on social media yesterday the agreement with France will significantly strengthen the country’s combat aviation, air defence, and other defence capabilities.

# Cricket: Reigning champions South Africa have moved to second in the ICC World Test Championship 2025 to 2027 standings. This follows their first Test victory in India since 2010 as they triumphed by 30 runs in Kolkata yesterday. The Proteas now have 24 points behind Australia, with Sri Lanka in third, India fourth, and Pakistan in fifth place. Each of the seven nations plays three series at home and away in the cycle. The top two teams will progress to the final in 2027.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-8-cents and the euro at 19-rand-80-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-51-cents and Bitcoin trades at 94-thousand-262-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-75-dollars-83-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 64-dollars-27-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….