News 15:00

BULLETIN 3 November 3 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Four of the five accused in a North West farm attack remain in jail
# Fuel prices will drop at midnight as government rolls out a ten-billion-rand relief package
# And rugby: Erasmus expects a spirited performance from Italy on Saturday

# The case against four of the five suspects arrested after the brutal attack on North West farmer Donovan Marx has been postponed to 13 November for a formal bail application. The four appeared in the Ventersdorp Magistrate’s Court on charges including attempted murder, robbery and possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition. The state describes the attack as planned and premeditated after Marx was shot, stabbed and both his ears cut off. The fifth suspect’s case has not yet been enrolled.

# The Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources has announced fuel price adjustments effective from midnight. Petrol prices will decrease by one cent per litre for grades 93 and 95, while diesel prices drop by between one-rand-ten and one-rand-twenty-cents. The changes follow a ten-billion-rand relief package from National Treasury, which temporarily cuts the fuel levy by one-rand-50-cent for petrol and three-rand for diesel. Meanwhile paraffin is up two-rand-75-cents.

# The Commission for Gender Equality will deploy commissioners and staff to monitor the local government elections across all nine provinces tomorrow. Monitors will visit voting districts in urban, peri-urban and rural communities, including informal settlements, to assess participation. The commission’s spokesperson, Javu Baloyi, says they want to ensure there are no impediments to any citizen, particularly through gender discrimination, in exercising their rights to participate in elections:

# The ANC has rejected what it calls the weaponisation of AGOA after the United States announced South Africa’s exclusion from the trade preference programme from January. National spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu says AGOA should not be used as a political tool to punish developing nations for independent foreign policy positions. She says South Africa will continue to pursue non-aligned diplomacy and trade diversification, including BRICS partners:

# Rugby: Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus expects a spirited performance from Italy in Saturday’s Nations Championship Test in Turin, despite the hosts only occupying eleventh place in the world rankings, topped by South Africa. He describes the Azzurri as a quality team who will enter the match with immense motivation to start their home leg on a positive note. This will be the 18th match between the countries, with Italy only beating the Boks once – in Florence in 2016 – but Erasmus says they have challenged South Africa well before.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-66-cents and the euro at 18-rand-62-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-33-cents and Bitcoin trades at 77-thousand-17-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-904-dollars-18-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 110-dollars-41-sents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….