News 13:00

BULLETIN 30 October 1 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Andrea Johnson and Feroz Khan are arrested
# Private operators will boost freight rail capacity
# And rugby: Furlong is cleared after an alleged groping incident

# The former head of the Investigating Directorate against Corruption, Andrea Johnson, and former police Crime Intelligence boss Feroz Khan have been arrested on charges relating to defeating the ends of justice. This follow damaging testimony at the Madlanga Commission concerning allegations involving a 2022 email in which Johnson disclosed an assault case docket against Khan four years earlier. She resigned from her position in July, while Khan was dismissed from the Police Service. The pair are expected to appear in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court today.

# Government has approved eleven private train operators expected to begin operations in April next year. Transport minister Barbara Creecy says the boost comes as freight capacity has increased by more than 20-million tonnes over the past two years. The new operators are expected to add another 24-million tonnes. Industry representatives say infrastructure rehabilitation, reliable services and investor confidence remain critical to reducing logistics costs and strengthening the country’s mining, manufacturing and export sectors.

# Parliament’s Select Committee on Social Services has called for accountability and immediate interventions to address weaknesses in the public health system. It received a briefing from the Department of Health on its annual report. The department has maintained its unqualified audit opinion and achieved its target of paying 100-percent of valid invoices within 30 days. Chairperson Desery Fienies says they are concerned about the gap between budget expenditure and the lived reality of public healthcare patients:

# Rugby: Leinster prop Tadhg Furlong escaped a sanction after allegedly groping an opponent in last weekend’s United Rugby Championship match against Munster. He was cited and expected to receive a hefty ban, but a disciplinary hearing cleared him, citing there was no sufficient evidence of foul play. Furlong is thus available to play for Ireland in next month’s Nations Championship Test against the Springboks in Dublin. Bok and Bulls prop Jan-Hendrik Wessels received a nine-week ban after a similar incident last year.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-63-cents and the euro at 18-rand-62-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-32-cents and Bitcoin trades at 77-thousand-562-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-990-dollars-35-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 117-dollars-68-sents a barrel.

# And finally: CapeNature is phasing out trade in California kingsnakes in the Western Cape over a two-year transition period that began in April. This follows after a risk assessment classified the species as high risk for invasion. CapeNature spokesperson Luke Folb says California kingsnakes have been kept in South Africa’s reptile-keeping community since at least the 1980s and are widely kept by hobbyists. He says they have adopted a phased approach that recognises existing lawful permit holders while addressing the biodiversity risk:

Stay tuned for more news………….