News 09:00

BULLETIN 1 October 9 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Minister Tau says the government is committed to keeping the country off the grey list
# Hegseth says the US military will cut 20-percent of its generals and admirals
# And tennis: Djokovic is off to a winning start at the China Open

# Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Parks Tau, says government is committed to keeping South Africa off the grey list and making the country a place where no one can hide behind a company. South Africa was officially removed from the Financial Action Task Force grey list on October 24, 2025, ending 32 months of enhanced international monitoring. Tau says the country’s efforts to enhance financial integrity and combat money laundering will be implemented through the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission beneficial ownership register and inter-agency collaboration.

# The South African Local Government Association has called for decisive, urgent action against gender-based violence and femicide, while warning that chronic underfunding and poor municipal infrastructure continue to hamper local safety efforts. President Cyril Ramaphosa announced a four-point national plan designed to strengthen the criminal justice system and accelerate government intervention against GBVF. SALGA’s spokesperson Motalatale Modiba says local government has a direct role to play in making public spaces safer for women:

# ActionSA in KwaZulu-Natal has welcomed the eThekwini council’s resolution to reprioritise funds for the permanent employment of 85 security officers. However, the party asserts that this number is insufficient given the extensive use of outsourced security. ActionSA’s Zwakele Mncwango says more than 160-million-rand is spent annually on outsourced security. He says the metro must accelerate its insourcing efforts to achieve substantial savings and provide stable employment:

# US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has confirmed plans to cut 20-percent of generals and admirals, saying this is long overdue. There are over 800 active-duty generals and admirals across the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and Space Force. The trimming of the US military’s top brass comes despite the military being seven months into a war with Iran and depleting ammunition stockpiles. Speaking at the Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia, Hegseth suggested they were also retaining service personnel at “record” rates:

# Tennis: Six-time China Open champion Novak Djokovic marked his first appearance at the event since 2015 with a victory. The Serb defeated Portugal’s Nuno Borges, 6-3, 7-6, to maintain his unbeaten record in Beijing. Djokovic will face Chinese wild card Bu Yunchaokete in the second round following his 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 win against Argentina’s Juan Manual Cerundolo. In the women’s draw, British number one Katie Boulter opened her campaign with a 6-3, 6-4 victory against Japanese qualifier Mai Hontama.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-44-cents and the euro at 18-rand-61-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-78-cents, and Bitcoin trades at 83-thousand-746-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-173-dollars-6-cents a fine ounce, and Brent crude oil is quoted at 100-dollars-60-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….