News 16:00

BULLETIN 4 November 4 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The High Court interdicts Operation Dudula from targeting foreign nationals
# The monthly new vehicle sales in South Africa are on the highest level in ten years
# And tennis: The ATP Finals will decide the year-end number one position

# The High Court in Johannesburg has interdicted the organisation Operation Dudula from demanding IDs from private individuals at health facilities. Members are barred from intimidating, harassing, or assaulting foreign nationals, making hate speech, interfering with access to healthcare, schools, or businesses, and unlawfully evicting or removing them from homes or trading stalls. The court ruled only immigration officials and police members may request identification. The order also prohibits inciting others to commit these acts on social media or at public gatherings.

# The Gauteng Education Department says the matric exams are progressing smoothly with no major disruptions reported. The department commended the matrics for their discipline and reminded learners to honour the National Senior Certificate pledge of honesty and integrity. Spokesperson Steve Mabona reiterated warnings against taking cellphones or crib notes into exam centres and raised concern over absenteeism among part-time candidates:

# Naamsa anounced South Africa’s new vehicle market continued its upward trajectory last month, supported by easing inflation, a firmer rand, continued signs of improving consumer sentiment, and demand recovery in key export markets. Aggregate domestic new vehicle sales rose to over 55-thousand-900 units last month, the highest monthly total since March 2015. It increased by seven-thousand-774 units, or 16-percent compared to the 48-thousand-222 units in October last year. For the year to date the new vehicle market is now 15,7-percent ahead of the same period in 2024.

# Tennis: The ATP Finals, starting in Turin, Italy, on Sunday, will decide who ends the year in the number one ranking. Local hero Jannik Sinner reclaimed top spot from Carlos Alcaraz when he won the Paris Masters, but the Spaniard will return to the number one next week when Sinners’ points from winning last season’s Finals are removed from the 52-week rankings. Even if Sinner wins the tournament undefeated, Alcaraz will end the year on top of the world if he reaches the semifinal.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-48-cents and the euro at 20-rand-6-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-82-cents and Bitcoin trades at 103-thousand-908-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-984-dollars-97-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 63-dollars-91-cents a barrel.

# And finally: Microsoft’s Digital Defence Report 2025 reveals that artificial intelligence is drastically accelerating cyberattacks, reducing preparation time to 58 days and detection time to just 12 days. Microsoft Africa’s chief security adviser, Kerissa Varma, says AI enables hackers to infiltrate, analyse, and monetise attacks faster than ever. Varma warns that AI-driven phishing success rates have quadrupled. She urges organisations to deploy AI-powered defences, enable multi-factor authentication, and maintain continuous monitoring to combat evolving threats.

Stay tuned for more news………….