News 06:00

BULLETIN 8 October 6 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# President Ramaphosa says Covid-19 exposed the need for local health manufacturing
# International Relations confirms the safe release of a South African in Mozambique
# And, Hamas praises the October 7 attacks in Israel as ‘a historic milestone’

# President Cyril Ramaphosa says the Covid-19 pandemic highlighted the need for South Africa to strengthen its local scientific, technological and pharmaceutical manufacturing capacity. Speaking at the launch of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research’s FuturePharma facility in Tshwane, Ramaphosa said greater local production is essential to protect the country’s health security and build resilience during future health emergencies:

# The Department of International Relations and Cooperation says a South African man who went missing in Mozambique in September has been released unharmed. The department did not disclose whether any arrests had been made or whether an investigation into the incident was underway. The department’s Nelson Kgwete says the man, from Phalaborwa in Limpopo, was working as a mechanic in the Marrupa district in northern Mozambique when he was captured:

# The Railway Safety Regulator says fatalities are the industry’s greatest safety challenge. Its latest data shows the public accounted for 95.4-percent of all fatalities. Despite the overall decline in railway occurrences, fatalities increased by 25.9-percent, rising from 139 to 175 in 2025/2026. Security-related occurrences fell to five-thousand-710, representing an 11.2-percent year-on-year decrease. Theft of railway assets declined by 10.2-percent, while vandalism decreased by 15.1-percent. Railway Safety CEO Brian Monakali says fatalities are attributed to a combination of factors, some of which are not in the direct control of operators.

# The GOOD Party says the DA is taking a harder stance on undocumented immigrants ahead of the local government elections next month. The party has criticised DA Tshwane mayoral candidate Cilliers Brink for leading an armed raid with private security officers targeting people allegedly living in the country illegally. GOOD’s Brett Herron says immigration enforcement is the responsibility of the state and should not be left to political figures or private security companies:

# Palestinian militant group Hamas has described the October 7, 2003 attacks in Israel as a “historic milestone” in its ongoing struggle project. Yesterday marked three years since Hamas targeted several areas in Israel, including a music festival, killing more than one-thousand-200 people and taking 251 hostages to Gaza. In retaliation, Israel launched a military offensive in Gaza in which over 74-thousand-200 people have since been killed. Hamas says the attacks it led were a response to decades of aggression by Israel and shattered illusions about the might of the country’s military.

# Cricket: Australia is bracing itself for a hostile reception in Durban tomorrow when it plays its first Test in South Africa since the ball-tampering scandal of 2018. Captain Steve Smith, vice-captain Dave Warner and bowler Cameron Bancroft were all sanctioned after television cameras showed Bancroft roughing the ball with sandpaper during the third Test in Cape Town. Proteas assistant coach Ashwell Prince says although taunting and insulting isn’t that much of a thing nowadays, it hasn’t gone completely out of the game.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-61-cents and the euro at 18-rand-61-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-96-cents and Bitcoin trades at 83-thousand-218-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-104-dollars-26-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 104-dollars-9-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….