News 06:00

BULLETIN 9 October 6 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# President Ramaphosa appoints minister Angie Motshekga as acting president
# Mkhwanazi accuses some journalists of publishing sensitive security information
# And, Russia says the momentum towards a peace deal with Ukraine is gone

# President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed Defence and Military Veterans minister, Angie Motshekga, to serve as acting president, as both the president and deputy president, Paul Mashatile, are currently out of the country. Ramaphosa undertook an official visit to Ireland on Wednesday and will today attend the Global Gateway Forum in Brussels, Belgium. Mashatile is on a two-day visit to Sudan to hold consultations on the implementation of the Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of Conflict in South Sudan.

# KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi says the country could burn if details of internal ANC campaign payments are made public. Mkhwanazi told Parliament’s ad hoc committee some officials are involved in political interference, and that businessman Brown Mogotsi had access to sensitive police information and is alleged to have provided financial support for Police minister Senzo Mchunu’s political activities:

Mkhwanazi says some journalists have published sensitive security information, putting police operations at risk. Mkhwanazi says the leaks have endangered police operations and officers working on classified cases. He urged the State Security Agency to act against those responsible, warning that the disclosure of such information undermines national security and ongoing investigations:

# Russia says the momentum towards reaching a peace deal in Ukraine, following Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump’s presidential summit in Alaska, had largely gone. The two leaders met in August, but failed to reach any kind of agreement on ending the three-and-a-half year war. Diplomatic efforts to end the fighting have since floundered, with both Moscow and Kyiv launching deadly strikes into each other’s territory. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov blamed Europe for the impasse, accusing it of wanting to wage a “war to the last Ukrainian”.

# Cricket: Australian captain Pat Cummins is expected to miss at least the first Ashes Test against England through injury. A back niggle keeps him from resuming bowling, only six weeks before the start of the opener in Perth on the 21st of next month. Cummins may reportedly also be a doubt for the whole of the series, continuing with matches in Brisbane, Adelaide, Melbourne, and Sydney. If he can’t play, Steve Smith is expected to lead the side, with Scott Boland coming in as a replacement bowler.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-14-cents and the euro at 19-rand-94-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-98-cents and Bitcoin trades at 123-thousand-333-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-18-dollars-36-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 65-dollars-66-cents a barrel.

# And finally: Today is World Sight Day, a day that aims to raise awareness about the importance of maintaining healthy vision. The theme this year is #LoveYourEyes. This day also highlights the global effort to eliminate preventable blindness and improve the quality of life for individuals with vision loss. Worldwide, 2.2-billion people have near or distant visual impairments, with around one billion of those cases preventable if treated. Nepal has the highest rates of visual impairments and blindness, followed by Germany, and then Turkey.

Stay tuned for more news………….