News 16:00

BULLETIN 14 October 4 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Madlanga commission halts Witness X’s testimony due to safety concerns during technical issues
# Limpopo’s premier urges families to identify their loved ones after the Makhado bus crash
# And rugby: Plumtree realises the importance of the Sharks winning their next two home games

# The Madlanga commission of inquiry in Pretoria has paused the testimony of Witness X due to technical issues that could have endangered the person’s safety. The commission’s chairperson, retired deputy chief justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga, says while transparency is important, it cannot come at the risk of putting witnesses at risk. Madlanga has ruled that Witness X’s evidence will be presented in a different format, with the evidence leader reading the statement into the record:

# Limpopo Premier Phophi Ramathuba has called on families to identify loved ones as post mortems begin tomorrow following Sunday’s Makhado bus crash. Ramathuba confirmed the death toll has risen to 43, with 45 others injured. The bus was traveling from the Eastern Cape to Zimbabwe and Malawi when the driver lost control on the mountainous Jambuzi Valley stretch of the N1. Ramathuba confirmed that authorities continue investigating the cause of the accident:

# The DA in the Western Cape says the province’s cruise tourism sector recorded more than a one-billion-rand contribution to the provincial economy in 2024/25, a 36-percent increase from the previous year. The party’s Noko Masipa says with 127-thousand passengers across 83 ship calls, the sector supports over two-thousand jobs. Growth extends to coastal towns like Mossel Bay, Hermanus, and Saldanha Bay, highlighting tourism’s role in creating opportunities for small businesses and communities:

Moving abroad:

# US president Donald Trump will attend the ceremonial signing of a peace agreement between Thailand and Cambodia at an upcoming summit. Tensions between the two countries erupted in July into the deadliest military clashes in decades, killing more than 40 people and forcing around 300-thousand to flee their homes. The two sides agreed to a ceasefire, brokered in part by Trump, after five days of fighting. Trump will visit Malaysia on 26 October to attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit.

# Rugby: Sharks head coach John Plumtree realises the importance of winning their next two United Rugby Championship matches at home after two losses and a tie in their three overseas games. The Durban team lost to Glasgow and Leinster, and drew with Dragons. They next face Ulster on Saturday, followed by a match against Scarlets before returning to Europe to play Connacht. Plumtree says the Sharks were outplayed by defending champion Leinster in Ireland last weekend. They are currently 13th on the log.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-47-cents and the euro at 20-rand-20-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-18-cents and Bitcoin trades at 111-thousand-226-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-118-dollars-74-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 61-dollars-77-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….