News 13:00

BULLETIN NEWS AGENCY 18 October 1 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# South Africa reportedly demands that Taiwan move its office from Pretoria
# The DA in Gauteng says the Health Department’s financial mismanagement is a concern
# And, rugby: Spectators are encouraged to use Cape Town’s MyCiTi bus service for the Stormers versus Munster game

# The Department of International Relations and Cooperation has reportedly demanded that Taiwan move its office from Pretoria, acting under pressure from the Chinese government. Like most countries, South Africa does not officially recognise Taiwan as a country separate from China, which claims the island state is part of it. According to the Daily Maverick, Taiwan is resisting the department’s demand, threatening to suspend educational exchanges, tightening up on visas for South Africans, and demanding that the country move its office from Taipei.

# The DA in Gauteng says the mismanagement and lack of financial and performance oversight in the provincial Health Department, has a direct impact on the quality of health care. MEC for Finance, Lebogang Maile, recently warned that unless the department manages to control its rampant administrative and financial mismanagement, it will bankrupt the province. The DA’s Alan Fuchs says the department’s material loss of 2.7-billion-rand is because it was not able to collect revenue owed to it:

# Education activist Hendrick Makaneta demands an urgent investigation into allegations of sex for marks at Mangosuthu University of Technology in KwaZulu-Natal. He says this scandal reveals serious abuses of power and exploitation within the academic environment. Makaneta emphasises the necessity for accountability and systemic reform to restore trust among students and the community. He calls for immediate action to address this issue:

Meanwhile, Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, announced new measures to fight sextortion, a form of online blackmail where criminals coerce victims, often teens, into sending sexually explicit images of themselves. The measures include stricter controls on who can follow or message teen accounts and safety notices in Instagram direct messages and Facebook Messenger about suspicious cross-country conversations. The measures beef up Instagram’s “Teen Accounts,” which were announced last month and are designed to better protect underage users from the dangers associated with the photo-sharing app.

# Rugby: Around 30-thousand spectators are expected to attend the United Rugby Championship match between the Stormers and Munster at the Cape Town stadium tomorrow. The Stormers are playing their first home game of the URC 2024/’25 season after a three-game tour of Europe. Mayoral committee member for Safety and Security, JP Smith, says the City of Cape Town is availing a free MyCiTi bus shuttle for match ticket holders:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-59-cents and the euro at 19-rand-8-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-96-cents and Bitcoin trades at 67-thousand-927-dollars-1-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-710-dollars-76-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 74-dollars-60-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….