News 14:00

BULLETIN 28 October 2 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# An expert warns of a high-risk period for political assassinations
# The DRC now has the second-largest Ebola virus outbreak globally
# And rugby: Six debutants are included in the Springbok squad for the European tour

# At least 43 people were killed in politically-motivated attacks in the first nine months of 2026, ahead of the local government elections. That’s according to the Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime. Senior adviser Julian Rademeyer says another ten people were killed in October alone. He warns the killings have a corrosive impact on democracy, driven by battles for council control, contracts and appointments. Rademeyer says attacks were recorded in seven provinces, with 16 incidents in KwaZulu-Natal and ten in Gauteng.

Meanwhile, social security agency SASSA says the special social grant payment dates for November are a once-off arrangement due to next Wednesday’s elections. Older persons grants will be paid on Friday, disability grants on Monday and children’s grants on Tuesday. Grants under review will be paid next Thursday, subject to eligibility. SASSA spokesperson Andile Tshona says December to March dates remain unchanged:

# A coalition of civil society organisations , including Fossil Free South Africa and the StopEACOP Coalition, has filed a formal complaint with the Advertising Regulatory Board targeting Standard Bank’s environmental advertising, alleging misleading environmental and climate claims. Spokesperson Zaki Mamdoo says they are asking the regulator to scrutinise the bank’s claims of leadership in sustainable finance and climate action, while it continues to finance major fossil fuel projects, including the East African crude oil pipeline:

Moving abroad:

# The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has now surpassed ten-thousand cases, making it the country’s largest outbreak on record. It is also the second largest Ebola virus outbreak globally. The DRC has recorded ten-thousand-and-60 cases with four-thousand-887 deaths. Earlier this month, Kenya and Nigeria reported their first cases linked to the ongoing outbreak. The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention says Africa has the expertise and the capacity, but must be mobilised faster to stop this outbreak and save lives.

# Rugby: Six players can make their debuts for South Africa in next month’s Nations Championship matches in Europe. They are Yaqeen Ahmed, Sebastian de Klerk, Luan Giliomee, Markus Muller, Riley Norton, and Emmanuel Tshituka. Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus announced a squad of 37 players for the Tests against Italy, France and Ireland. He is delighted to welcome the talented young players, saying their performances the last two seasons were key factors. Experienced boks Cheslin Kolbe, Eben Etzebeth, André Esterhuizen and Handré Pollard are all injured and couldn’t be considered.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-65-cents and the euro at 18-rand-52-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-11-cents and Bitcoin trades at 81-thousand-400-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-and-46-dollars-11-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 116-dollars-20-sents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….