News 06:00

BULLETIN 31 October 6 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# South Africa thrash England to reach its first-ever ODI Women’s World Cup final
# SARS requests an additional 7.6-billion-rand from the Treasury
# And, a Hawks officer admits the Molefe arrest standoff could have ended in a shootout

# We start this bulletin with sports news:

# Captain Laura Wolvaardt produced a batting masterclass as South Africa thrashed England by 125 runs in Guwahati, to reach their first ODI Women’s World Cup final. Wolvaardt smashed 169, the highest-ever score from a South African at a World Cup, to help the Proteas post a commanding 319 for seven. In reply, Marizanne Kapp took five wickets as England were bowled out for 194. South Africa will face either Australia or India in Sunday’s final. Wolvaardt says partnerships were key for the team:

# The South African Revenue Service has asked National Treasury for 7.6-billion-rand for the next three years. This is on top of the additional 3.5-billion-rand it received for the current financial year. SARS’ chief financial officer, Schalk Huma, told Parliament’s standing committee on Finance that the 7-6-billion-rand is to address the shortfall in its base allocation, collect all outstanding money owed to SARS sustainably, and improve the service’s modernisation. The revenue service is in discussions with Treasury about its funding model, as it’s about 30-percent underfunded.

# Hawks captain Barry Kruger told the Madlanga commission that tensions during the arrest of businessman Katiso “KT” Molefe in Sandhurst were so high that the situation could have ended in a shootout. Kruger, who serves in the Tactical Operations Management Section, is the third witness today to provide clarity on the December arrest. He said he and a colleague were sent to verify reports of bogus Hawks officers, but found armed police members on the scene:

Kruger says he ignored warnings that the arrest of Molefe was legitimate, deploying a police helicopter and seeking extra officers despite being told the operation was lawful. Kruger told the commission that he did not check the arrest warrant and was unaware of who sent additional Hawks officers to the scene, insisting he was following instructions while coordinating:

# The DA in Tshwane will table a motion of no confidence against ANC deputy mayor Eugene Modise during the City’s ordinary council meeting today. The DA’s Jacqui Uys says the motion seeks accountability after reports revealed Modise allegedly benefited from a multi-million-rand security contract with the municipality. She accuses mayor Nasiphi Moya of shielding Modise, saying his position as Finance mayoral committee member compromises the city’s financial integrity:

# Residents of a slum in Rio de Janeiro lined up more than 40 bodies at a plaza in their low-income neighborhood after the bloodiest police operation in the city’s history. There was no official confirmation yet about whether they were among the 60 suspected members of a drug gang who were killed during Tuesday’s massive counter-narcotics operation in two slums in northern Rio. Four police officers were also killed during the operation, which involved two-thousand-500 officers. It targeted the Comando Vermelho, Rio’s main criminal organisation.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-17-cents and the euro at 19-rand-93-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-66-cents and Bitcoin trades at 110-thousand-411-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-950-dollars-13-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 64-dollars-7-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….