News 18:00

BULLETIN 21 October 6 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The DA loses its Electoral Court case over president Cyril Ramaphosa’s national address shortly before the elections
# Two additional accused in the Lusikisiki mass killings appear in court
# And tennis: Aryna Sabalenka replaces Swiatek on top of the world rankings

# The DA has lost its Electoral Court case against president Cyril Ramaphosa, accusing him of abusing his office during a national address just three days before the May 29 elections. The DA argued the address was electioneering for the ANC, but the court ruled there was no evidence it influenced voters or compromised the election’s fairness. The court found Ramaphosa acted within his constitutional duties to inform the public. Each party will bear its own legal costs.

# Two additional accused have been added to the case of the Lusikisiki mass killings in the Eastern Cape. They will appear in the local Magistrate’s Court again next Thursday, where they will join the other four accused. The National Prosecuting Authority’s regional spokesperson, Luxolo Tyali, says Zenande Paya and Mawethu Nomdlembu were arrested in Flagstaff with four rifles and ammunition believed to have been used in last month’s massacre in Ngobozana village in which 18 people were killed: 

# The Department of Water and Sanitation says the Lesotho Highlands water project tunnel maintenance operations that is scheduled to end in March next year is currently going according to plan since the tunnel shutdown earlier this month. The department’s spokesperson, Wisane Mavasa, says the tunnels have been drained of water and the process of de-watering took a whole week. She says water from the tunnels were released into the Caledon and the Little Caledon rivers in the Free State:

# Tennis: Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus says she’s determined to hang on to the world number one ranking at least until the end of the year. She surpassed Iga Swiatek on top of the rankings today after the Pole missed several tournaments due to fatigue and a coach swop. Sabalenka spent eight weeks in the top position last year before Swiatek overtook her again. Next month’s WTA Finals in Saudi Arabia will probably be decisive in determining who ends the year in the number one spot.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-58-cents and the euro at 19-rand-7-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-89-cents and Bitcoin trades at 67-thousand-506-dollars-13-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-737-dollars-93-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 73-dollars-86-cents a barrel.

# And finally: Education activist Hendrick Makaneta has urged government to rename North West University to Lucas Mangope University in honour of his contributions to education in South Africa. Despite being viewed as a dictator by some, Makaneta noted Mangope’s dedication to academic excellence and community development. He says renaming the university would acknowledge his role in shaping the education landcape while inspiring future generations:

Stay tuned for more news………….