News 17:00

BULLETIN 2 October 5 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# France is to deliver a preliminary report on Nathi Mthethwa’s cause of death by Sunday
# Rugby: Argentina picks an inexperienced half-back pairing to face the Boks at Twickenham
# And rooibos extracts demonstrate the protective effects in preliminary breast cancer research

# International Relations and Cooperation deputy minister Alvin Botes says French police are finalising investigations into the death of ambassador Nathi Mthethwa. Speaking outside Mthethwa’s home in Kwambonambi, KwaZulu-Natal, Botes said the post-mortem report will determine the cause of death, with a preliminary report expected by Sunday. He confirmed repatriation efforts will be expedited within ten-days and warned against speculation:

# Correctional Services minister Pieter Groenewald warns against granting parole just to ease prison overcrowding. In a parliamentary question, Groenewald revealed that over 18-thousand parolees reoffended in the past three years, including 493 accused of murder and 624 of rape. Theft and housebreaking were the most common offences. From 2022 to this year, more than 46-thousand inmates were released on parole, but over 28-thousand parole violations were recorded over five-years, mostly due to reoffending. Groenewald emphasised urgent parole reform to protect public safety.

# The ANC says rising electricity tariffs and ongoing load reduction are placing a heavy burden on poor households. While welcoming Eskom’s 16-billion-rand profit and improvements in energy supply, the party warns that many communities still face hardship from power cuts and high costs. ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula told the media energy reform must provide reliable, affordable electricity that supports growth and dignity, not hardship:

# Rugby: Argentina’s head coach, Felipe Contepomi, says he has full confidence in his inexperienced half-backs for their closing Rugby Championship match against South Africa at Twickenham on Saturday. Scrum-half Simon Benitez Cruz will make just his second Test start, coming in for injured Gonzalo Garcia. Fly-half Geronimo Prisciantelli makes his full debut as Contepomi reshuffles the Pumas’ back-line, with Santiago Carreras moving from fly-half to full-back. Flyhalf Tomas Albornoz is unavailable through injury, having been on the bench during last week’s heavy loss to the Boks in Durban.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-21-cents and the euro at 20-rand-21-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-17-cents and Bitcoin trades at 119-thousand-292-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-893-dollars-24-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 64-dollars-72-cents a barrel.

# And finally: New laboratory research from Stellenbosch University suggests rooibos may counteract the activity of estrogen in breast cancer cells. Estrogen is often described as a kind of driver of breast cancer growth, because many breast cancer tumours carry receptors that respond to it. A senior lecturer in biochemistry at Stellenbosch University, Nicky Verhoog, says because so many breast cancers are sensitive to estrogen, the possibility that Rooibos might help block its effect is significant:

Stay tuned for more news………….