News 15:00

BULLETIN 18 October 3 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The DA wants clarity on South Africa’s request for Taiwan’s office relocation
# The ANC’s Eugene Modise has been elected unopposed as deputy mayor of Tshwane
# And soccer: Alcohol may be permitted in stands at England’s Tier Two women’s matches

# The DA is concerned over South Africa’s demand for Taiwan’s Taipei Liaison Office to leave Pretoria. The longstanding agreement allowing Taiwan’s trade and representation has been in place for 26 years. While recognising the country’s stance on One China, the party seeks a clear reason for this sudden change. The DA’s Emma Louise Powell insists that any changes to this agreement should have support from the government of national unity:

# The ANC’s Eugene Modise has been elected unopposed as the new deputy mayor of Tshwane. The mayoral committee member for Finance becomes the second deputy mayor in the city’s history. His election follows the vacancy left by former deputy mayor, Nasiphi Moya of ActionSA, who became mayor after the ousting of the DA’s Cilliers Brink.  In his address during a special council sitting, Modise vowed to create a friendly, safe, and conducive working environment for all employees: 

# Four people are now behind bars in connection with this week’s murder of a student from Stellenbosh University. Jesse Mitchell was robbed and stabbed in the neck while riding on his bike in the Boland town in the early hours of Wednesday morning, on his 19th birthday. He was returning to his residence after working with his project team till midnight. The body of the first-year Computer Science student was found in Borcherd Street. A Go-Fund-me page was created to help the family with Mitchell’s funeral costs.  

# The Magistrate’s Court in Caledon in the Western Cape will on the 25th consider an application by a teenager accused of murdering a 16-year-old schoolgirl to be sent for psychiatric evaluation. Deveney Nel was murdered at Hoërskool Overberg in the town in August, and the 17-year-old learner from the same school was apprehended shortly after attending her memorial. Later it transpired that he was accused of sexually assaulting an 11-year-old girl in 2020, when he was 13, but wasn’t prosecuted because it was found he lacked criminal capacity.

# Soccer: England is trialling the idea of allowing alcohol in the stands at Tier Two women’s matches. Reuters reports the consumption of alcohol in the stands had been banned for the top five men’s tiers in 1985 because of hooliganism. The women’s game has since adopted the same rule for the top two tiers. The CEO of the Women’s Professional Leagues, Nikki Doucet, says the behaviour of the women’s fan base is different and they want to give spectators choices without jeopardising safety and responsibility.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-56-cents and the euro at 19-rand-5-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-92-cents and Bitcoin trades at 67-thousand-861-dollars-25-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-712-dollars-70-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 74-dollars-10-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….