News 15:00

BULLETIN 24th October 3 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Cele was afforded only two hours to hand over to his successor as minister of Police
# Judges Matter calls for special leave for bribery-accused acting Judge President Ledwaba
# And Ramaphosa says South Africa and Vietnam should pursue collaboration on electric vehicle production

# Former Police minister Bheki Cele says he was given only two hours to hand over to his successor, suspended minister Senzo Mchunu. Testifying before Parliament’s ad hoc committee, Cele said he prepared a thick handover document but there was no further engagement afterward. He adds he expected follow-up communication for ongoing matters, including the political killings task team, as key issues were left undiscussed:

# Judicial watchdog Judges Matter says acting Gauteng Judge President Aubrey Ledwaba should be placed on special leave following serious bribery allegations. Witness A told the Madlanga commission Ledwaba received 2.5-million-rand to help free alleged cartel boss Katiso Molefe, but Ledwaba denies the claims. Judges Matter’s Mbekezeli Benjamin says it would be prudent for Ledwaba to step aside until the allegations are substantiated through affidavits and formal investigation procedures:

# President Cyril Ramaphosa says South Africa and Vietnam are committed to transitioning to cleaner forms of energy. He was speaking during the Vietnam-SA Business Forum in Hanoi. Ramaphosa says South Africa is advancing renewable energy and green hydrogen projects, while Vietnam is also investing in sustainable energy infrastructure. He says both countries should pursue collaboration on electric vehicle production, battery manufacturing and clean energy technology:

# Cycling: The 2026 Tour de France presents champion Tadej Pogacar and his rivals with a plethora of mountain passes and peaks, including two stages tackling the revered Alpe d’Huez. Organisers revealed the 21-day race will start from Barcelona in Spain on 4 July and cover three-thousand-333-kilometres before finishing beneath the Arc de Triomphe in Paris on 26 July after three climbs of the cobbled Rue Lepic in Montmartre. It is an itinerary which offers Pogacar’s chief rivals Jonas Vingegaard and Remco Evenepoel more hope than this year’s route did.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-33-cents and the euro at 20-rand-13-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-10-cents and Bitcoin trades at 111-thousand-132-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-and-57-dollars-49-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 65-dollars-67-cents a barrel.

# And finally, the University of the Witwatersrand has been selected as one of 15 global teams awarded funding through the Bezos Earth Fund’s Artificial Intelligence for Climate and Nature Grand Challenge. Launched in 2024, the challenge harnesses the power of AI to tackle the dual crises of climate change and biodiversity loss. Wits has received 31.1-million-rand in funding for its Creating FineCast, an AI-powered weather forecasting toolkit for Africa, which aims to improve the accuracy and localisation of weather predictions. The 15 winning projects span five continents.

Stay tuned for more news………….