News 08:00

BULLETIN 25 October 8 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Witness C says “Cat” Matlala claimed he had regular contact with minister Senzo Mchunu
# The MK Party rejects Bheki Cele’s linking the party to Louis Liebenberg
# And cricket: The Proteas face Australia in their final World Cup group match

# Witness C has told the Madlanga commission that alleged criminal kingpin Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala claimed to be in regular contact with Police minister Senzo Mchunu on the day of his arrest on 14 May. The witness, a member of the political killings task team, also testified that Matlala boasted about paying national deputy police commissioner Shadrack Sibiya and KwaZulu-Natal Hawks head Lesetja Senona multimillion-rand kickbacks linked to a SAPS health services tender:

# The MK Party has dismissed former Police minister Bheki Cele’s allegations that it received funding from Louis Liebenberg, a diamond dealer involved in a four-billion-rand investment scandal. The party argues that Cele, during his tenure, had a duty to act if the claims were true, but his failure to do so exposes the claims as false. MK spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndhlela says the allegations made before Parliament’s ad-hoc committee are baseless, malicious, and a political stunt:

# The Department of Basic Education has achieved its fifth consecutive unqualified audit, marking continued progress in clean governance and financial discipline. Presenting the report to Parliament, minister Siviwe Gwarube said the clean audit reflects the department’s commitment to accountability and integrity. The department’s Terence Khala states irregular expenditure had dropped by more than 90-percent over the past two years, falling from 955-million-rand to 68-million-rand:

# Police arrested a man who pointed a knife at them in front of the US embassy in Tokyo yesterday. The 30-year-old was taken into custody after pointing a kitchen knife at anti-riot police officers on the street. The motive behind the detained man’s actions was not immediately known. The incident occurred days before American President Donald Trump’s planned trip to Japan from October 27 to 29, where he will meet Emperor Naruhito and newly elected Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. The police have mobilised up to 18-thousand personnel to bolster security for the visit.

# And sports news:

# Cricket: The Proteas Women face log-leader Australia in their final World Cup group match in Indore, India, today. Both countries have already qualified for the semifinals, along with England and India, but the final standing will only be confirmed after tomorrow’s encounters between England and New Zealand and India and Bangladesh. The first semifinal on Wednesday will be decided between the countries ending first and fourth on the log, and the second on Thursday between numbers two and three. The final takes place next Sunday.

# And soccer: Liverpool manager Arne Slot says the “last thing” he is worried about is Mohamed Salah finding his scoring touch again after his barren run for the club extended to six games. The Egypt international has not scored a Premier League goal from open play since the opening weekend of the season. He was dropped from the starting line-up for Liverpool’s 5-1 win against Eintracht Frankfurt in the Champions League on Wednesday and substituted late in Liverpool’s 2-1 defeat to Manchester United at Anfield last week. They face Brentford today.

Stay tuned for more news………….