News 13:00

BULLETIN 20 October 1 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The National Prosecuting Authority welcomes the denial of Sibiya’s bail
# The Electoral Commission recieves over 700 complaints over election content
# And Albertans reject a referendum on independence and will remain part of Canada

# The National Prosecuting Authority says the denial of bail to former deputy national police commissioner Shadrack Sibiya aligns with what the prosecution had sought. Spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago says the state presented a strong case against Sibiya, who faces charges of rape, sexual grooming and human trafficking in the Randburg Magistrate’s Court in Gauteng. The cast was postponed to 24 November. Kganyago says the prosecution is ready to proceed should Sibiya appeal the bail ruling:

# The Electoral Commission received over 700 complaints over election-related content ahead of next month’s local government elections, mostly linked to posts on X. Chief electoral official Sy Mamabolo says some involve unauthorised use of images via artificial intelligence, but have not yet significantly disrupted the electoral environment. The IEC has signed an agreement with Google, Meta, Microsoft, TikTok and Moxii Africa to tackle disinformation. Mamabolo says violations could lead to 200-thousand-rand fines, five to ten years jail sentences or the deregistration of candidates or parties.

# The GOOD Party is calling on Finance minister Enoch Godongwana to announce fuel price relief in tomorrow’s medium-term budget policy statement. It says this will mitigate the impact of the global fuel crisis, keep inflation in check, and reduce pressure on interest rates. GOOD’s secretary general, Brett Herron, says the geopolitical turbulence that has driven global fuel prices upwards shows no signs of abating and Godongwana must announce a review of the general fuel levy:

Moving abroad:

# The oil-rich province of Alberta will remain part of Canada after residents rejected an independence referendum. In the non-binding referendum, residents were asked whether they wanted to maintain the province’s current status or begin the legal process required to hold a binding vote on independence. Seventy-six-percent voted in favour of remaining in Canada while 23.6-percent voted on holding a separation referendum. Prime minister Mark Carney says Albertans have made a clear choice and now everyone can move forward together with renewed purpose and high ambition.

# Soccer: The Court of Arbitration for Sport will at the end of next month hand down its ruling on Senegal’s appeal against African governing body CAF ’s decision to award the Africa Cup of Nations to Morocco. CAF’s Appeal Board ruled Senegal had forfeited the match by walking off the pitch in January’s final in Rabat. CAS director general Matthieu Reeb says arbitrators will issue a complete ruling next month:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-44-cents and the euro at 18-rand-43-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-93-cents and Bitcoin trades at 81-thousand-350-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-125-dollars-77-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 112-dollars-84-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….