News 18:00

BULLETIN 1 October 6 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Police raid 26 properties in Cape Town over 1.6-billion-rand tender fraud allegations
# Scores of people die in a boating accident on a river in Nigeria
# And cricket: Australia trials injury substitutes for feasibility in Tests

# Police in Cape Town have raided 26 properties linked to an alleged 1.6-billion-rand tender fraud case. The large-scale operation was led by the Commercial Crime Investigations Unit. The city’s spokesperson, Luthando Tyhalibongo, says police collected documents and electronic evidence to determine the full scope of the alleged corruption:

Meanwhile, the GOOD Party says the raids exposed cracks in the DA’s claims of clean governance. The party welcomes the efforts to tackle corruption and commends the Commercial Crime Investigation Unit for its coordinated operation targeting alleged municipal procurement irregularities. GOOD’s secretary-general, Brett Herron, pledges to support efforts promoting transparency and honest service delivery:

# A food processing factory in Ashton in the Western Cape has entered a new era under Langeberg Foods, officially beginning operations from today. The new ownership, taking over from Tiger Brands, includes Norfund, the Ashton Fruit Producers Co-Operative, and the Langeberg Community Trust and aims to secure jobs, support local farmers, and drive community development. Chairperson Anthony Dicey says the factory, a key employer of over three-thousand workers and a major exporter, will continue to drive economic growth in the Breede River Valley.

Moving abroad:

# A boat accident on the Niger River in southern Nigeria has killed at least 26 people. The boat was taking traders to a market on the other side of the river bank. Accidents are common on Nigeria’s busy rivers, often caused by overloaded boats, poor maintenance or failure to comply with safety regulations. Last month, a crowded ferry boat capsized in the Niger State after reportedly hitting a tree stump, and at least 32 people drowned.

On to sports news:

# Cricket Australia says it will trial injury substitutes in this season’s domestic Sheffield Shield to determine whether it is feasible to introduce at Test level. The trial, with International Cricket Council approval, will be conducted over the opening five rounds of the red-ball competition, which starts this weekend. Teams will be able to replace an injured player up until stumps on day two, at the match referee’s discretion. In the interests of fairness, the opposition will be able to make a tactical substitution in response, within the same timeframe.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-18-cents and the euro at 20-rand-16-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-17-cents and Bitcoin trades at 117-thousand-180-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-869-dollars-91-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 65-dollars-31-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….