News 13:00

BULLETIN 2 November 1 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Voters are asked to hold corrupt municipal councilors accountable
# An analyst says humiliation at the polls could see Trump become more reckless on Iran
# And tennis: Zverev is officially the world number one

# Activists and Citizens Forum says the power to bring change to municipalities lies in the hands of voters, who will have an opportunity to remove councillors accused of corruption and poor service delivery through the ballot box. It maintains corruption has contributed to the collapse of municipalities, leaving many communities without reliable basic services. The forum calls on voters to exercise their democratic rights on Wednesday and demand accountability from those entrusted with managing public resources.

The Solidarity Movement is also encouraging its members to vote on Wednesday. Chairperson Flip Buys says voting remains an important part of bringing about change, and communities that succeed in mobilising voters are in a stronger position to influence their municipalities’ political direction. He points out average voter turnout in municipal elections is below 50-percent, arguing increased participation can significantly strengthen a community’s voting influence:

# The City of Tshwane says its water intervention plan is beginning to yield positive results, with a target of reducing water demand by 150 million litres a day. The plan aims to support reservoir recovery and improve water supply to communities affected by ongoing restrictions. The metro’s spokesperson, Lindela Mashigo, says the measures are being implemented in collaboration with Rand Water to address exceptionally high demand and ease pressure on the interconnected water supply network:

Moving abroad:

# The Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft says US president Donald Trump could become even more reckless on Iran if the Republicans lose the midterm elections. Executive vice president Trita Parsi told Al Jazeera if the Democrats take the House and the Senate, they will be in a position to create significant obstacles for Trump to continue this war. Parsi believes there is a faint possibility that another round of military action could be avoided:

# Tennis: Twenty-nine-year-old Alexander Zverev has officially replaced Italian Jannik Sinner at the top of the latest ATP men’s rankings. He is the first German to lead the rankings since Boris Becker in 1991 after claiming two Grand Slam titles this year. Zverev is also the 30th different men’s player at number one. Meanwhile, Spaniard Rafael Jodar has moved up to tenth in the rankings, becoming the first player since the rankings were introduced in 1973 to reach the top ten during his first full season on tour.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-62-cents and the euro at 18-rand-67-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-33-cents and Bitcoin trades at 78-thousand-100-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-900-dollars-98-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 112-dollars-84-sents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….