News 17:00

BULLETIN 7 October 5 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Solidarity’s defamation case against minister Ntshavheni will proceed unopposed
# The Teddy Bear Foundation takes government to court for ignoring the National Child Protection Register
# And Tennis: Emma Raducanu retires at the Wuhan Open due to extreme heat

# Trade union Solidarity says its defamation case against minister in the Presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, will proceed unopposed. This follows after neither Ntshavheni nor president Cyril Ramaphosa filed a response to contest the claim. The case relates to Ntshavheni’s statements in March alleging that Solidarity and AfriForum spread misinformation during their visits to the US. Solidarity CEO Dirk Hermann maintains there is no evidence to support these claims.

# SECTION27, representing the Teddy Bear Foundation, has approached the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria seeking an order against several departments to maintain and implement the National Child Protection Register. This matter stems from a 2022 case involving a learner who was raped by a caretaker at a school in North West. SECTION27’s Zeenat Sujee says the school’s governing body and the provincial Department of Education failed to take all steps necessary to hold the caretaker accountable:

# A candidate for a Constitutional Court vacancy, Justice Nambitha Dambuza, says it is essential for the apex court to reflect gender representation. The Judicial Service Commission began conducting interviews to fill vacancies across the country’s superior courts between today and the 15th. Shortlisted candidates seek to fill vacancies including in the Constitutional Court, Supreme Court of Appeal, High Courts and the Labour Court. Dambuza stressed that gender balance enhances public confidence in the judiciary:

# The DA in the Western Cape says tourism and trade are booming ahead of the busy holiday season. Wesgro’s latest air access report shows Cape Town International Airport handled over 223-thousand international passengers in August, up five-percent from last year, while domestic travel rose by seven-percent. George Airport recorded 13-percent growth, and air cargo volumes surged by 54-percent. The DA’s Noko Masipa says the party’s trade-friendly approach is driving jobs and investment in the province:

# Tennis: Emma Raducanu had her blood pressure and other vitals checked before retiring from her Wuhan Open first-round match with dizziness when she was down 6-1, 4-1 to American Ann Li. The British world number 30 appeared to be struggling with the conditions as temperatures soared to 30 degrees Celsius, forcing tournament organisers to apply the heat rule in the first two days of competition. The heat rule allows players to take a 10-minute break between the second and third sets, and means the tournament can be played under a partially or fully closed roof.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-18-cents and the euro at 20-rand-1-cent. One British pound costs 23-rand-1-cent and Bitcoin trades at 124-thousand-814-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-978-dollars-67-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 64-dollars-90-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….