News 16:00

BULLETIN 23 October 4 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Diesel prices could decrease next month but the petrol situation is uncertain
# South Korea renews its offer of military talks with North Korea
# And soccer: America will host the inaugural FIFA Women’s Club World Cup in 2028

# Diesel prices could decrease by a substantial amount next month, but the situation for petrol prices is still uncertain. This follows government’s decision to temporarily cut fuel levies. Finance minister Enoch Godongwana on Wednesday announced a cut of three-rand per litre for diesel, and one-rand-50 for petrol. News24 reports the Central Energy Fund’s data shows diesel prices can decrease by about one-rand-70-cents a litre at the beginning of November, while petrol prices could stay the same or fall by a maximum of 23-cents a litre.

# Trade union Solidarity opposes government’s plan to centralise more than 88-billion-rand in unclaimed money, including pension funds. The National Treasury is working on a framework to help people claim unclaimed funds. The union’s Marius Croucamp says the move could give the state control over money that belongs to private individuals. He believes private financial institutions should continue managing the money, and says Solidarity will take further steps to protect the rights of beneficiaries:

# The Western Cape government has launched a 127-million-rand technical schools programme aimed at equipping learners with practical, industry-relevant skills to improve their employment prospects. The initiative is being rolled out at six schools, with more than six-thousand learners and 137 teachers participating. Education MEC Jaco Londt says the programme will run for three years, with the first group expected to matriculate in 2028:

Moving abroad:

 # South Korea has again proposed military talks with North Korea to clarify the countries’ disputed land border and reduce the risk of accidental clashes. The proposal follows a landmine explosion in the Demilitarised Zone last month that injured three South Korean soldiers. Seoul says North Korean troops have crossed the military demarcation line while building roads and fences and laying mines near the border. Pyongyang denies responsibility for the incident. A similar proposal last year received no response from the North.

# Soccer: The United States will host the inaugural edition of the Women’s Club World Cup in January 2028. Seven clubs have already qualified for the 19-team competition, courtesy of winning continental tournaments in the past two seasons. The list includes Women’s Super League side Arsenal of England, current European champions Barcelona of Spain, and Corinthians of Brazil. FIFA’s chief for women’s soccer, Sarai Bareman, says America’s recent excellence in staging top FIFA tournaments, combined with the significant interest in the women’s game plus its elite sporting infrastructure, made the country the standout option.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-59-cents and the euro at 18-rand-57-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-18-cents and Bitcoin trades at 81-thousand-576-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-and-28-dollars-34-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 116-dollars-6-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….