News 14:00

BULLETIN 6 October 2 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Feroz Khan’s testimony at the Madlanga Commission is postponed after the death of a family member
# Solidarity proposes non-racial equity alternatives to save AGOA benefits
# And the nationwide school protests in France are set to intensify after mass arrests

# Former deputy head of Crime Intelligence, major-general Feroz Khan’s appearance at the Madlanga Commission has been postponed indefinitely following the fatal shooting of a family member, Preggy Padayachee, near OR Tambo International Airport in Gauteng last night. No arrests have been made. Khan was due to testify in-camera after surviving an alleged assassination attempt in June. Commission spokesperson Jeremy Michaels says more details will be announced in due course:

# Trade union Solidarity submitted a settlement proposal to the South African and American governments on South Africa’s race-based policies, as part of efforts to retain African Growth and Opportunity Act benefits. Solidarity’s Theuns du Buisson says the White House is reconsidering South Africa’s participation, with an announcement expected by 1 November. He proposes phasing out race-based policies by 2030, using non-racial equity-equivalent and employee share ownership programmes as alternatives:

# Financial services group and long-term insurer Sanlam has announced it will take over the remaining 37.3-percent stake it does not already own in short-term insurer Santam. If the transaction is approved by minority shareholders as is expected, Santam will be delisted from the JSE, the Namibian Stock Exchange and A2X. Sanlam has offered 505-rand per share to investors. CEO Paul Hanratty says Santam’s board had confirmed it unanimously supports the scheme of arrangement and will recommend that eligible shareholders vote in favour of it.

Moving abroad:

# France is bracing for a nationwide day of learner protests after more than five-thousand people were arrested during clashes last week. Up to 500 high schools have been fully or partly closed amid the unrest, which began over teacher shortages, overcrowded classrooms and deteriorating school buildings. More than 170 learners and 78 teachers have been injured. The protests intensified yesterday when a 15-year-old boy was seriously injured during clashes with police in northern France. Trade unions are joining today’s demonstrations, increasing pressure on president Emmanuel Macron’s government.

# Cricket: Regular South Africa A captain Marques Ackerman says he is ready for Test cricket after going through every single part of the pipeline. He is expected to make his debut for the Proteas when the first Test against Australia starts in Durban on Friday. The 30-year-old Dolphins captain played at every level for Gauteng, and represented South Africa Under-19 and the SA Academy team. Ackerman says he worked hard for his first Test call-up, and hopes he can contribute to the team when his chance arrives.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-55-cents and the euro at 18-rand-61-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-93-cents and Bitcoin trades at 86-thousand-56-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-153-dollars-95-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 101-dollars-64-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….