News 18:00

BULLETIN 8 October 6 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Ramaphosa grants Nathi Mthethwa a special official funeral
# Malema defends the DA’s Dianne Kohler Barnard in Parliament
# And soccer: South Africa’s under-20 team is confident ahead of the World Cup clash against Colombia

# President Cyril Ramaphosa has granted the late South African ambassador to France, Nathi Mthethwa, a special official funeral category two. A memorial service is underway in Paris following Mthethwa’s death last week after reportedly falling from the 22nd floor of the Hyatt Regency Hotel. His body is expected to leave France tomorrow and arrive in South Africa on Friday. The family says the funeral should be held on Sunday.

# EFF leader Julius Malema says Parliament’s ad hoc committee investigating police capture must not recuse any members of Parliament from the inquiry. Malema was responding to calls for DA MP Dianne Kohler Barnard to be removed over allegations she mishandled classified information. Malema stressed that the committee must follow parliamentary rules, despite KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi’s claims at the Madlanga commission that Kohler Barnard had mishandled sensitive crime intelligence data:

# The Financial Intelligence Centre, with assistance from the Asset Forfeiture Unit, has recovered 144-million-rand in criminal proceeds during the 2024/25 financial year, a 46-percent increase from the previous year. The centre also blocked 157-million-rand linked to suspected crime. Acting director Pieter Smit told eNCA most recovered funds, tied to fraud, corruption, and money laundering, are deposited into the state’s National Revenue Fund:

# The International Relations and Cooperation Department, UNISA and the University of KwaZulu-Natal, has highlighted the role of financial inclusion in poverty reduction, equitable growth, and social stability at a G20 Town Hall Outreach in Durban today. The event emphasised that financial inclusion for economic development creates access to benefit grassroots economies. The meeting follows previous town hall meetings in Pretoria, Mbombela, and Cape Town, reinforcing South Africa’s G20 presidency’s priorities and sustainable development goals.

# Soccer: South Africa’s Under-20 men’s coach, Raymond Mdaka, says his side knows what to expect when they face Colombia in the FIFA Under-20 World Cup Round of 16 in Chile at 9.30 tonight. Amajita finished second in Group E with six points after victories over New Caledonia and the USA. Mdaka says Colombia is disciplined and organised, but Amajita can exploit their spaces. He also welcomes the continued unity in the team:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-16-cents and the euro at 19-rand-20-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-5-cents and Bitcoin trades at 122-thousand-917-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-and-40-dollars-31-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 65-dollars-99-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….