News 08:00

BULLETIN 2 November 8 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The IEC urges voters approved for home-visit special voting to remain at their registered addresses
# Three more suspects are arrested in connection with the Marx farm attack
# And motorsport: Antonelli is crowned the youngest F1 champion in history

# The Electoral Commission says special votes will be securely stored and reconciled before being counted alongside ballots cast on Election Day on Wednesday. About 2.6-million South Africans are expected to cast their special votes today and tomorrow. Of those approved, 1.9 million will vote at designated voting stations, while IEC officials will visit the remainder at their registered addresses. IEC chief electoral officer Sy Mamabolo has warned that officials would not return to home addresses where approved voters are not available:

Meanwhile, the independent data analyst Michael O’Donovan predicts record-low voter turnout in the local government elections, with fewer than half of registered voters expected to participate. A total of 29 million South Africans are registered to vote in this week’s elections. In an opinion piece, he says choosing a party has become increasingly difficult as traditional voting patterns have shifted. Using Johannesburg as an example, O’Donovan argues that voters face difficult choices between service delivery, community participation and ethical leadership, potentially discouraging many from voting.

# North West Police have arrested three more suspects in connection with last Wednesday’s violent farm robbery and attempted murder in Syferfontein, Ventersdorp, bringing the total to five suspects. Fifty-year-old Donovan Marx was shot and brutally assaulted on his farm, with the suspects fleeing the scene with firearms and his bakkie. Police spokesperson Adele Myburgh says that during the arrest of the three suspects, police seized four firearms, of which two are linked to the Ventersdorp incident, as well as clothing items and jewellery:

# Israeli strikes killed eight people, including a child, and wounded six in Gaza yesterday, despite a ceasefire that came into effect in October last year. According to Gaza’s Interior Ministry, five police officers were killed while they were carrying out their regular duties in Al-Mawasi. In a separate attack, three Palestinians, including a father and his four-year-old son, were killed next to a school in Gaza City. The Israeli military says it carried out the two attacks on what it described as military operatives.

# Motorsport: Twenty-year-old Kimi Antonelli has claimed his maiden World Drivers’ Championship in just his second season, becoming the youngest Formula One champion in history. The Mercedes driver finished third at the Mexico City Grand Prix to secure the title with four races left in the season. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen won the race with Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton in second. Antonelli, who is also the first Italian world champion since Alberto Ascari in 1953, says this is just the beginning:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-71-cents and the euro at 18-rand-66-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-36-cents, and Bitcoin trades at 78-thousand-467-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-899-dollars-81-cents a fine ounce, and Brent crude oil is quoted at 114-dollars-46-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….