News 08:00

BULLETIN 21 October 8 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The ANC and Ezulweni reach an agreement over the party’s election campaign debt
# Britian is ready to deploy soldiers to Ukraine if a peace deal is secured
# And tennis: Jannik Sinner is out of the Italy Davis Cup Finals squad

# The ANC and Ezulweni Investments have reached an out-of-court settlement. The party was expected to approach the courts today to overturn an order attaching its bank accounts over a debt of more than 85-million-rand it owes to Ezulweni. This is after the ANC failed to pay its debt to the KwaZulu-Natal printing and marketing company for election campaign material it supplied in 2019. The ANC says the matter has now been resolved amicably and the contents of the new agreement will remain confidential.

# Eskom says the updated Integrated Resource Plan is a clear investment roadmap towards a balanced national energy mix that will ensure a sustainable future and deliver economic inclusion. The plan, approved by the cabinet last week, will make use of more solar, wind, and gas to ensure there is enough reliable power by 2030. Eskom’s spokesperson, Daphne Mokwena, says the updated IRP is informed by the input of over four-thousand interested parties at the public consultation stage:

# ActionSA in Gauteng says the recent attacks on crime-prevention wardens underline grave systemic failures by the provincial government. Last week, a warden stationed at the Crime Prevention Unit in Germiston was shot whilst responding to a robbery. This comes after five wardens were hospitalised after being ambushed by 12 armed suspects in Daveyton last month. ActionSA’s Zwelithini Mtshali says the fact that crime-prevention wardens are often placed in harm’s way without full support or resources is unacceptable:

# Defence Secretary, John Healey, says Britain is ready to deploy troops to Ukraine if US president Donald Trump secures a peace deal with Russia. Trump and Russian president Vladimir Putin are planning to meet in Hungary in the next few weeks, in an attempt to end the nearly four-year full-scale war. Healey says the plan includes the preparation of military personnel to join a multinational force that would be sent to help secure Ukraine’s borders if Trump brokers a ceasefire:

# Tennis: World number two Jannik Sinner will not play for Italy in this year’s Davis Cup Finals on home soil in Bologna next month. The four-time Grand Slam champion helped propel his nation to victory in 2023 and 2024. A representative for Sinner said that he was skipping the event to gain an extra week of preparation for the Australian Open, with which he will start his 2026 season. Italy will face Australia in the Davis Cup quarterfinals. Meanwhile, world number one Carlos Alcaraz has been named in Spain’s team.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-22-cents and the euro at 20-rand-4-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-7-cents and Bitcoin trades at 109-thousand-587-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-347-dollars-65-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 60-dollars-62-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….