News 08:00

BULLETIN 22 October 8 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The government reaffirms broad-based black economic empowerment
# The GOOD Party is concerned about students using their allowances to gamble online
# And Israel has identified one of the latest deceased hostages returned by Hamas

# The Government Communication and Information System has reaffirmed that broad-based black economic empowerment remains a key policy for economic transformation and inclusion. It says the policy is a constitutional and moral obligation aimed at redressing historical injustices and promoting inclusion, particularly for women, youth, and people with disabilities. Government deputy spokesperson William Baloyi says the policy, developed through democratic processes, remains central to the government of national unity’s goal of building a fair and inclusive economy:

# The GOOD Party says recent reports revealing that some students are using their National Student Financial Aid Scheme allowances to gamble online are not only tragic, they are symptomatic of a far deeper crisis. Driven primarily by its increasing digital accessibility, betting has seen a significant year-on-year growth of 45.7-percent in South Africa. GOOD’s National Youth chairperson, Kaden Arguile, says gambling has become both an escape and a symptom, a reflection of economic desperation:

# National Police Commissioner, Fannie Masemola, has condemned ongoing gang-related activities in Westbury, Johannesburg. This comes after seven teenagers were shot in what is believed to be a gang-related incident on Tuesday afternoon. Two of the victims were declared dead on arrival at the hospital, while five others remain in the hospital. No arrests have been made as yet. Masemola says it is concerning that young children are being used as runners for drug-peddling in the country:

# The Israeli Defence Force says forensics examiners have publicly identified the remains of one of the two deceased hostages that were handed over by Hamas on Tuesday. The identified hostage is Aryeh Zalmanovich, who was killed in captivity on November 17, 2023, at the age of 85. Confirmation of the identity of the second person would mean that Hamas has transferred 15 out of 28 deceased Israeli hostages, under the first phase of a US-brokered ceasefire. All 20 living hostages were released earlier this month.

# Tennis: Seven-time champion Novak Djokovic has withdrawn from the upcoming Paris Masters, without giving a reason. The 38-year-old retired from his third-place play-off match against American Taylor Fritz at the Six Kings Slam in Saudi Arabia on Saturday. Djokovic is still on course to play the season-ending ATP Finals next month, which he has won a record seven times. World number one Carlos Alcaraz of Spain and Italian Jannik Sinner will headline the Paris Masters, which begins next Monday and runs until the 2nd of November.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-41-cents and the euro at 20-rand-20-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-27-cents and Bitcoin trades at 107-thousand-955-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-111-dollars-53-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 62-dollars-1-cent a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….