News 07:00

BULLETIN 24 October 7 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# South Africa welcomes the International Court of Justice’s findings on Israel
# Zelensky says Ukraine will not trade land for peace with Russia
# And rugby: Bulls and Springbok hooker Jan-Hendrik Wessels hit with a nine-game ban

# South Africa has welcomed the International Court of Justice’s advisory opinion on Israel’s obligations in Gaza. In its non-binding opinion, the court said Israel is obliged to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip by the United Nations and its entities. The court also found that Israel had not substantiated its allegations concerning UNRWA’s impartiality. The Department of International Relations and Cooperation says the cornerstone of lasting regional peace and stability lies in the full realisation of the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination.

# Build One South Africa calls for the urgent creation of a publicly accessible digital register of all government and state-owned entity vendors. The call follows revelations from the Madlanga commission in Pretoria, showing widespread tender corruption. BOSA deputy leader Nobuntu Hlazo-Webster says the register would make spending transparent, stop corruption, and let the public hold officials and suppliers accountable:

# The DA in Tshwane says mayor Nasiphi Moya’s explanation of the 777-million-rand the metro spent on water tankers in the 2024/25 financial year raises more serious questions. The mayor stated that the figure was not accurate, as it reflects the total value of purchase orders issued and not the actual expenditure. The DA’s Cilliers Brink says Moya’s latest account doesn’t deny excessive spending, but blames a portion of this on previous administrations:

# Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky says his country will not accept territorial concessions as part of future peace negotiations with Russia. Moscow wants to keep control over Crimea and four other regions of Kyiv, which Russian forces do not control entirely. Zelensky says the hundreds of billions of dollars of frozen Russian assets held by the European Union should be used to bolster the weapons production of Ukraine, Europe, and their partners:

# Rugby: Bulls and Springbok hooker Jan-Hendrik Wessels has received a nine-match ban, which stems from an incident during a United Rugby Championship clash against Connacht last weekend. In the match, Connacht flanker Josh Murphy hit Wessels twice in a ruck, and later accused the Bulls player of grabbing him in the crotch area. A disciplinary committee found the 24-year-old guilty of foul play. The Bulls have the right to appeal. Wessels will miss the Boks’ tour of Europe next month, where they face Japan, France, Italy, Ireland and Wales.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-32-cents and the euro at 20-rand-12-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-8-cents and Bitcoin trades at 110-thousand-339-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-125-dollars-42-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 64-dollars-95-cents a barrel.

# And finally: The latest Asterix cartoon adventure released yesterday is being published in 19 languages and across 25 countries as it takes the indomitable Gaulish warrior to ancient Portugal. “Asterix in Lusitania” is the 41st instalment in the legendary French comic book series, taking him to the far reaches of the Roman Empire. Accompanied as usual by his trusty sidekicks Obelix and Dogmatix, he is on a mission to save a small-time garum producer accused of poisoning Julius Caesar with his fermented fish sauce, and facing a trip to the lion’s den.

Stay tuned for more news………….