News 09:00

BULLETIN 9 October 9 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The government discusses ways to reduce fuel prices
# The DA warns against airport closures in the Eastern Cape
# And tennis: Monfils expects a hiding from Alcaraz in Shanghai today

# Minister of Mineral and Petroleum Resources Gwede Mantashe says government discussions are underway to lower fuel prices. This comes as the prices are currently distorted by taxes like the general fuel levy and Road Accident Fund levy. The minister says although petrol and diesel prices should be around 14-rand-per-litre, they exceed 20-rand-per-litre. He highlighted that rising living costs have triggered these discussions to offer more relief to South Africans.

Cosatu has meanwhile welcomed Mantashe’s support for calls for the price of fuel to be slashed. Cosatu’s, Matthew Parks, says government must develop a concrete plan alongside business and labour at the National Economic Development and Labour Council:

# The DA has raised concerns over repeated closures of East London’s King Phalo Airport, warning of severe impacts on Buffalo City’s tourism and economy. DA constituency leader Leander Kruger blames Air Traffic and Navigation Services’ operational failures. Kruger says the shutdown marks the second in weeks, causing major delays. He confirmed that the DA is pushing for urgent government intervention:

# Tennis: French veteran Gaël Monfils doesn’t even give himself a chance when he faces world number two Carlos Alcaraz in the round of 16 at the Shanghai Masters today. He unexpectedly beat the Spaniard at the Cincinnati Masters in August, but expects Alcaraz to crush him this time around. Thirty-eight-year-old Monfils became the second-oldest player behind Swiss maestro Roger Federer to go so far in the tournament when he beat his compatriot Ugo Humbert. World number one Jannik Sinner plays Ben Shelton from the US today.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-59-cents and the euro at 19-rand-30-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-2-cents and Bitcoin trades at 62-thousand-321-dollars-35-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-616-dollars-67-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 77-dollars-40-cents a barrel.

# And finally, the Steve Biko and Frantz Fanon Award for Psychological Liberation has been awarded to the legal team that presented South Africa’s case against Israel at the International Court of Justice earlier this year. The team included former University of Witwatersrand’s law professor, John Dugard, advocate Adila Hassim, and lawyer Tembeka Ngcukaitobi. The legal team was recognised for strategically navigating historical and geopolitical nuances, demonstrating an enlightened and emancipated understanding of the issues at hand.

Stay tuned for more news………….