News 07:00

BULLETIN 7 October 7 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The DA calls on president Ramaphosa to come clean on minister Simelane’s VBS loan
# The police arrest a 14th alleged drug mule at OR Tambo
# And Israel denies a Hezbollah leader agreed to a ceasefire before his assassination

# The DA is calling on president Cyril Ramaphosa to come clean on what he knew about the VBS-linked loan Justice minister Thembi Simelane received. Reports alleged that Ramphosa was informed about the dubious transaction before Simelane’s original appointment to Cabinet in 2021. The president has asked for time and space to review a detailed report from the minister on the loan. The DA’s, Glynnis Breytenbach, says Simelane’s failure to make the loan agreement and proof of payment public further deepens suspicion:

# Minister of Public Service and Administration, Inkosi Mzamo Buthelezi, has revealed that three cabinet members requested deviations to appoint unqualified candidates to their ministerial offices. Agriculture ministers John Steenhuisen, Water and Sanitation minister Pemmy Majodina, and Minerals and Petroleum minister Gwede Mantashe sought approvals, but all requests were denied. Meanwhile, RISE Mzanzi has praised this move stating it as a crucial move toward professionalising the public sector, ensuring opportunities for qualified professionals and unemployed graduates.

# A 43-year-old drug mule from Paraguay was arrested at OR Tambo International Airport yesterday. The man is the third to be arrested at the airport in the past week after police had apprehended two Dutch travellers who were found to be trafficking 80 kilograms of Khat. Police spokesperson, Amanda van Wyk, says this brings the total number of alleged drug mules arrested in recent weeks at the airport to 14:

# The Israeli ambassador to the UK, Tzipi Hotovely, has denied Lebanon’s assertion that the late Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah accepted a ceasefire deal before his assassination. This is as strikes over the border from both Hezbollah and Israel have continued. The temporary 21-day ceasefire was called for by US president Joe Biden and other allies during last week’s United Nations General Assembly. Hotovely told the BBC that Israel did not want a war with Gaza or Lebanon:

# Tennis: World number six Coco Gauff defeated Karolina Muchova to win the China Open, her eighth career WTA title and first since January. The American eased past the unseeded Czech, 6-1, 6-3, to become the tournament’s youngest champion in 14 years. Meanwhile, fifth seeds Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini became the first Italian champions at the China Open, defeating Taiwan’s Chan Hao-Ching and Veronika Kudermetova of Russia, 6-4, 6-4, in the doubles final.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-45-cents and the euro at 19-rand-16-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-92-cents and Bitcoin trades at 63-thousand-871-dollar-58-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-647-dollars-52-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 77-dollars-67-cents a barrel.

# And finally: Japanese toymaker MegaHouse has unveiled a miniature Rubik’s Cube, one so tiny that you might need a pair of tweezers to solve it. Each face of the cube, which is made from aluminum, measures about five millimeters across. It was made available for pre-order on the manufacturer’s website last week, with deliveries expected next April. Weighing just 0.3-grams, the puzzle is about one-thousandth of the size of the original. Guinness World Record has confirmed the micro-cube as the world’s smallest rotating puzzle cube.

Stay tuned for more news………….