News 06:00

BULLETIN 26 October 6 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# President Ramaphosa believes the ANC will have plenty to celebrate after the elections
# The US Attorney General denies claims that Trump wants to undermine the midterm elections
# And cricket: Coetzee and Bosch are potential replacements for Nortjé

# ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa has expressed confidence in the party’s electoral prospects in the local government elections, saying it will have plenty to celebrate after the November fourth polls. He made the remarks during a door-to-door campaign in Soweto yesterday. Soweto is expected to be a key battleground in the elections. Ramaphosa also defended the ANC’s 32-year record in government, arguing that the party has delivered significant transformation and development:

# The Department of Agriculture says government is working to coordinate a broader national response to food insecurity and malnutrition. Acting Director Thulile Dlamini says nutrition-related solutions have been incorporated into all three goals of the second review of the National Food and Nutrition Security Plan. Dlamini says the agriculture sector is addressing the underlying causes of malnutrition by improving food availability and accessibility; this includes promoting diverse farming systems, supporting nutrient-rich and indigenous crops, and ensuring agricultural support programmes are sensitive to nutritional needs.

# The General Industries Workers Union of South Africa is calling for an emergency job creation plan to address rising unemployment and mass retrenchments across key sectors of the economy. GIWUSA president Mametlwe Sebei says urgent intervention is needed to protect jobs and support workers affected by retrenchments in the automotive, metals, food and construction industries. He has criticised an economic system, it says, that prioritises profits over people, calling for greater investment in production and employment creation:

# Western Cape police are offering a 100-thousand-rand reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the killing of five people in Lavender Hill over the weekend. Gunmen stormed a house in the area, killing four men and a woman while three others were wounded. The Anti-Gang Unit has launched a manhunt, with gang violence suspected as a motive. Western Cape Police Commissioner Sizakhele Dyantyi says it cannot be normal that people are killed in numbers in the communities they live in.

# US Attorney General Todd Blanche has denied claims that president Donald Trump is laying the groundwork to undermine next month’s midterm election results. This comes as the Justice Department has filed a lawsuit to block certification of Alaska’s Senate election if Republican incumbent senator Dan Sullivan loses. Predictions are that the Republican Party will lose both the House and the Senate. Blanche told CNN that the department did not coordinate with any campaign or candidate in filing the lawsuit:

# Cricket: South Africa will be without fast bowler Anrich Nortjé for the third and final Test against Australia in Cape Town starting tomorrow. He sustained a groin injury in the second Test in Gqeberha. Gerald Coetzee is an almost like-for-like replacement but has not played a Test in nearly two years, and all-rounder Corbin Bosch is also an option. Proteas coach Shukri Conrad could also opt for a slower bowler instead, with left-arm spin-bowling all-rounder Senuran Muthusamy an option. The series is perfectly poised at one-all going into the final Test.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-57-cents and the euro at 18-rand-57-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-16-cents and Bitcoin trades at 80-thousand-366-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-2-dollars-35-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 115-dollars-90-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….