News 14:00

BULLETIN 23 October 2 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Former minister Nqakula rejects claims he tried to block apartheid-era prosecutions
# Israel prepares for a full West Bank closure after a shooting attack
# And rugby: Piardi refs another Springbok Test in November

# Former Safety and Security minister Charles Nqakula has rejected allegations he supported efforts to halt prosecutions for apartheid-era atrocities. He testified before the Khampepe Commission. Nqakula describes claims that he or former president Thabo Mbeki’s administration obstructed justice for Chris Hani and Cradock Four activist Fort Calata as deeply insulting. He recalls the shock of learning of Hani’s assassination in 1993, saying he could never undermine the victims’ memories:

# Social security agency SASSA has rejected a Mail and Guardian report questioning a 30-million-rand communication contract. SASSA says the contract was initiated before acting CEO Themba Matlou took office and was intended to strengthen public communication across all nine provinces. The agency says the campaign helped inform beneficiaries about migrating from SASSA gold cards to alternative banking arrangements. SASSA maintains the spending supported service delivery, denies personal promotion and says Matlou was cleared of previous allegations by the Public Protector.

# The Motor Industry Staff Association is warning motorists payday weekends are among the most dangerous periods on South Africa’s roads. Alcohol is linked to more than 27-percent of fatal crashes, while close to 12-thousand people die on the country’s roads every year. MISA spokesperson Phakamile Hlubi-Majola says the drunk driving crisis will only improve when individuals make a conscious and personal decision not to get behind the wheel while under the influence of alcohol:

Moving abroad:

 # Israel has ordered its military to prepare for a full closure of the occupied West Bank after a shooting near Hebron left at least five people injured. Israeli forces killed two suspected Palestinian attackers, whom the military said were responsible for the incident. Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered security forces to cordon off Hebron and prepare additional restrictions on movement across the territory. Roadblocks have already been set up in nearby Palestinian towns as security operations continue.

# Rugby: Italian referee Andrea Piardi will again take charge of a Springbok Test next month after last month’s controversial match against the Wallabies in Perth, when he issued Australia four yellow cards in the final ten minutes. He will handle the Boks’ Nations Championship clash with France in Paris on the 13th. South Africa will face Italy in Turin the previous week, and Ireland in Dublin on the 21st. Scotland’s female referee, Hollie Davidson, will handle the match between France and Argentina on the same day.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-56-cents and the euro at 18-rand-54-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-15-cents and Bitcoin trades at 81-thousand-614-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-and-24-dollars-50-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 115-dollars-61-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….