News 07:00

BULLETIN 13 October 7 am/pm

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Minister Tau says a trade deal with the US is close
# AfriForum asks the Khampepe Commission to probe political interference during apartheid
# And, Israel says it is ready to receive the hostages held in Gaza today

# Trade, Industry and Competition minister Parks Tau says South Africa is very close to agreeing on a trade deal with the US, but there are hot-button issues that need to be addressed. President Donald Trump imposed 30-percent tariffs on South African exports to the US in August. Minister Tau met with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer in Washington last month. The minister has admitted that issues such as black economic empowerment and Trump’s claim of white genocide are still being dealt with, but they are beginning to make significant progress.

# AfriForum has submitted a formal submission to the Khampepe Commission of Inquiry, asking for an investigation into political interference that prevented ANC leaders from being prosecuted for terror attacks during apartheid. AfriForum CEO, Kallie Kriel, says the Khampepe Commission was established after pressure from the families of the Cradock-4 in particular, to obtain answers to the causes of the delay in the investigation and prosecution of crimes identified by the TRC:

 # Higher Education and Training minister, Buti Manamela says the department has initiated a comprehensive internal-control improvement plan to strengthen data integrity and performance monitoring. He says the Auditor-General cautioned against the removal of key performance indicators that capture strategic impact and found that the Department had not implemented adequate internal controls to safeguard the integrity of reported achievements. Manamela says an optimally functioning department is essential to a functioning the post-school education and training system:

# Parliament’s portfolio committee on Correctional Services says prisons should not be centres of further illegality. The committee conducted oversight visits to correctional facilities in the Eastern Cape and Western Cape last week. The Department of Correctional Services has been under growing pressure to clamp down on the circulation of banned items inside prison facilities, which has been linked to violence, extortion, and organised crime networks operating from behind bars. Committee chairperson, Kgomotso Ramolobeng, says correctional centres should be a place to empower and reskill offenders.

# The Israeli government says it is expecting all 20 living hostages held by Hamas in Gaza to be released to the Red Cross this morning. This is part of the first phase of the peace deal agreed last week. Hamas holds 48 hostages, 20 of whom are believed to be alive. Israel will also release nearly two-thousand Palestinian detainees. Israeli government spokesperson, Shosh Bedrosian, says they are also ready to receive the bodies of the deceased hostages:

# Tennis: World number 204 Valentin Vacherot defeated his cousin Arthur Rinderknech to win the Shanghai Masters, his maiden ATP tour-level title. The 26-year-old from Monaco fought back from a set down to win, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, and become the lowest-ranked ATP Masters 1000 champion in history. Meanwhile, two-time Grand Slam champion Coco Gauff beat her American compatriot Jessica Pegula, 6-4, 7-5, to win the Wuhan Open in China. The win marks Gauff’s 11th career WTA singles title and her second this year, following her French Open victory. 

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-35-cents and the euro at 20-rand-16-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-17-cents and Bitcoin trades at 115-thousand-843-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-55-dollars-89-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 61-dollars-87-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….