News 08:00

BULLETIN 26 October 8 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# President Ramaphosa  says Malaysia and South Africa reaffirmed their commitment to cooperation
# Over 500 suspects were arrested for various sexual crimes across the country
# And rugby: South African teams excel in round 5 of the URC

# President Cyril Ramaphosa says Malaysia and South Africa reaffirmed their commitment to intensifying cooperation under the ASEAN-South Africa Sectoral Dialogue Partnership framework. Ramaphosa was speaking during an official visit to Malaysia. The president says Malaysia also expressed its readiness to work closely with South Africa to advance shared priorities within ASEAN, including the promotion of regional peace, stability, and prosperity:

Meanwhile, Ramaphosa and Malaysian prime minister, Anwar Ibrahim strongly condemned the atrocities in Gaza. Both leaders reiterated their steadfast support for the Palestinian people’s inalienable right to self-determination and the establishment of a sovereign and viable Palestinian state. Ramaphosa says they welcomed initiatives aimed at achieving an immediate, unconditional, and permanent ceasefire, including the removal of the blockade on Gaza:

# Police Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences units continue to make significant inroads in the fight against gender-based violence and femicide. Police spokesperson, Amanda van Wyk says recently, the specialised units collectively arrested 534 suspects across the country for various sexual crimes, including rape, sexual assault, attempted rape, and other related offences. During the same period, FCS investigators secured 13 life imprisonment sentences and an additional 448 years’ imprisonment against convicted sexual offenders:

# Eight former ActionSA councillors in the City of Johannesburg have filed an urgent application before the High Court in Johannesburg, scheduled to be heard on Tuesday. The Applicant’s spokesperson, Elmari Atterbury, says the matter seeks an interdict preventing ActionSA from replacing the councillors, pending the outcome of a dispute regarding their contested dismissal from the council. She says the councillors maintain that their removal was procedurally flawed and politically motivated, and carried out without due process:

# Ukraine’s European allies said frozen Russian assets needed to be used quickly to fund support for Kyiv, one of several measures discussed in London talks to increase the pressure on Vladimir Putin. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer hosted the talks with President Volodymyr Zelensky and other leaders, discussing a range of efforts, including taking Russian oil and gas off the global market and giving Kyiv more long-range missiles. NATO chief Mark Rutte said US President Donald Trump was still reviewing whether to send Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine.

# And rugby: Three of the four South African franchises in the United Rugby Championships were victorious in matches played yesterday. The Stormers continued their unbeaten record to overcome Bennetton by 31- 16 in Treviso, Italy, last night, to remain on top of the log. Earlier, the Lions ran in seven tries against Ulster at Ellispark, beating the Irish team by 49-31. The Sharks ended their winless streak, clinching a 29-19 bonus-point victory over the Scarlets at Kings Park. In their away game against Glasgow Warriors, the Bulls were beaten 21-12.

Stay tuned for more news………….