News 08:00

BULLETIN 19 October 8 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Solidarity accuses Gauteng Education of a hostile stance towards Afrikaans schools
# The Hawks investigate a second break-in at the Phala Phala Farm
# And, rugby: The Stormers make changes to the forwards for their clash against Munster

# Solidarity has accused the Gauteng Department of Education of having a hostile attitude toward Afrikaans schools. The union argues the BELA Act undermines Afrikaans education. It criticised the department for failing to meet the demand for new schools, amid ongoing school shortages. Solidarity’s Connie Mulder fears the act’s language and admissions policies will be used to force Afrikaans schools to offer dual-medium education, threatening their future:

# The Hawks have confirmed an investigation into a second break-in at president Cyril Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala farm in Limpopo. According to News24, the incident occurred in June 2020, four months after millions of dollars were stolen in the first burglary in February. While Ramaphosa denies any theft in the second incident, reports suggest burglars spent over an hour inside the farmhouse before fleeing when a presidential protection vehicle approached. Despite this, no official investigation was launched until two years later.

# President Cyril Ramaphosa has expressed sadness over the death of former Labour minister Membathisi Mdladlana, who was 72 years old. Mdladlana was a member of South Africa’s first democratic Parliament in 1994 and served as minister of Labour under presidents Nelson Mandela, Thabo Mbeki, Kgalema Motlanthe, and Jacob Zuma. Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya says Mdladlana will be remembered as a key figure in the nation’s history: 

# Netflix is starting to raise prices in some countries as growth spurred by its crackdown on password sharing, starts to fade. The film and TV streaming giant said it had already lifted subscription fees in Japan and parts of Europe as well as the Middle East and Africa. The firm has added more than 45-million new members since last year and has 282-million subscribers globally. Analysts also expect advertisements to eventually become big business for Netflix. However, Netflix warned it did not expect ads to start driving growth until next year.

# And, rugby: There are four changes to the Stormers starting forward pack for their United Rugby Championship encounter with Munster in Cape Town today. Prop Sti Sithole and hooker Joseph Dweba come back into the starting line-up, while lock Adré Smith will make his first start of the season. Marcel Theunissen will start at openside flank. The only change to the backline sees Suleiman Hartzenberg back on the right wing, while Springbok scrumhalf Herschel Jantjies will make his return from injury on a replacements bench. Kick-off is at 6 pm.

Stay tuned for more news………….