News 15:00

BULLETIN 17th October 3 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Ramaphosa says freedom from hunger is a moral and constitutional duty
# Trump will host Zelensky today
# And cricket: The Women’s World Cup has already achieved record viewing figures

# President Cyril Ramaphosa says freedom from hunger is both a moral and developmental imperative. Speaking at the seventh Social Justice summit at Stellenbosch University’s Centre for Social Justice in Cape Town, Ramaphosa emphasised that access to food and water is a constitutional right, placing a duty on the state to ensure its realisation. He emphasised that South Africa is among only 29 countries where citizens can take legal action to enforce this:

Meanwhile, Professor Thuli Madonsela from Stellenbosch University says gender-based violence and crime undermine human security by violating fundamental human rights. She said during the summit Israel’s war in Gaza and the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine endangers human security. Madonsela adds peace and planet earth are under threat in the world and are the key drivers of hunger:

# Parliament’s portfolio committee on Justice and Constitutional Development has recommended restarting the process to appoint a new commissioner for the South African Human Rights Commission after procedural issues stalled it. The vacancy follows the resignation of deputy chairperson Fatima Chohan in April. Committee chairperson Xola Nqola says disagreements arose over voting rights for members absent during interviews, prompting delays. The committee has now advised that the entire appointment process starts from scratch.

Moving abroad:

# The American president, Donald Trump, will welcome his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, to the White House today for a meeting Ukraine had hoped would result in more military support. Zelensky has been pushing for Tomahawk missiles from the US, but during a two-hour call between Trump and Vladimir Putin yesterday, the Russian president said supplying long-range missiles to Ukraine would harm the peace process and damage relations between the two super powers. Trump’s tone after his call with Putin has called the likelihood of immediate military support into question.

# Cricket: The Women’s World Cup has achieved record viewing figures with 60-million fans having already tuned in to watch the first 13 one-day matches. This is the first women’s tournament where the prize money is more than the previous men’s ODI World Cup. The 13th edition of the women’s showpiece 50-over tournament, which started in India and Sri Lanka last month, has eight teams competing for the title to be awarded after the final on 2 November.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-38-cents and the euro at 20-rand-31-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-36-cents and Bitcoin trades at 106-thousand-292-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-309-dollars-33-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 60-dollars-79-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….