News 09:00

BULLETIN 10 October 9 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Freedom Front Plus rejects threats to strip critics of their South African citizenship
# President Cyril Ramaphosa supports the Free State’s plan to revive industrial growth
# And swimming: Pieter Coetzé smashes a world record in Tashkent

# The Freedom Front Plus has condemned threats to strip political opponents and civil rights groups of their South African citizenship or charge them with treason for speaking out about the country internationally. The party’s Corné Mulder says these threats violate the Constitution and the rights to citizenship and freedom of expression. Mulder accuses the ANC of silencing critics and vows to continue speaking out locally and internationally:

# President Cyril Ramaphosa says he is encouraged by the Free State’s plans to revive industrial growth, attract investment and create jobs. He was speaking at the launch of the Free State catalytic investment and industrialisation project. Ramaphosa says the province was once a major manufacturing centre, but poor municipal services and infrastructure problems led to several companies closing or moving elsewhere:

# AfriForum says repeated electricity cuts at schools in Centurion are raising concern ahead of the final examinations. As a result, the organisation is preparing urgent legal action against the municipality for breaching a court order. AfriForum’s Alana Bailey says the City of Tshwane has cut power to schools again, despite a court order prohibiting such action. Bailey added the unpaid rates are the Education Department’s responsibility, not the schools:

# Tesla has renamed its controversial Full Self-Driving software Tesla Assisted Driving on its European websites. The change follows concerns from European regulators that the original name could mislead motorists into believing their cars can drive themselves. The system can steer, brake and accelerate, but drivers must remain alert and ready to take control. Eight European Union countries have approved the technology, while a wider EU decision has been postponed until at least December. The rebranding follows pressure from German authorities, who say the new name more accurately describes the software’s capabilities.

# Swimming: South Africa’s Pieter Coetzé has smashed the men’s 50-metre backstroke short-course world record at the Swimming World Cup in Uzbekistan. The 22-year-old touched the wall in 22.09 seconds in Tashkent yesterday, taking 0.02 seconds off the previous mark set by Russia’s Kliment Kolesnikov in 2022. Coetzé beat Russian swimmer Egor Kornev, who finished second in 22.29 seconds, while Pavel Samusenko took bronze. The world record is the latest achievement in a remarkable year for Coetzé, who won three backstroke gold medals at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in July.

# And, motorsport: Red Bull’s Max Verstappen has secured pole position for Saturday’s Singapore Grand Prix sprint race, beating Mercedes driver George Russell by just 0.120 seconds. The four-time world champion clocked one minute 31.156 seconds around the Marina Bay street circuit, claiming his first pole position of any kind in Singapore. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc qualified third, ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris. Championship leader Kimi Antonelli could manage only seventh. Verstappen says his car felt much stronger on soft tyres, although he admitted the team still has weaknesses to address.

Stay tuned for more news………….