News 11:00

BULLETIN 8 October 11 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Parliament’s ad hoc committee finally completes deliberations on its draft report
# Solidarity wins its case against racial quotas for the legal profession
# And rugby: Scott Barrett will start his first Test of the year against the Wallabies

# Parliament’s ad hoc committee investigating police corruption has concluded deliberations on its 790-page draft report. There have been several contentious issues during the deliberations in recent weeks. These include allegations that Police minister Senzo Mchunu, who is on special leave, solicited bribes; Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala’s alleged cash payments to former Police minister Bheki Cele; and the future of the Investigating Directorate against Corruption. Committee chairperson Soviet Lekganyane says the content team will now clean up the draft report before it’s sent to witnesses for comment.

# The High Court in Pretoria has set aside minister of Trade, Industry and Competition Parks Tau’s decision to gazette the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Legal Sector Code. The code sets targets for black ownership and leadership of law firms, seeks to expand opportunities for black women, and aims to direct more work to black-owned law firms. The court has sent the matter back to Tau for reconsideration. Solidarity Law Network’s Emil Glas says this a huge victory over government’s reckless racial policy:

# The Gauteng government has condemned the murder of a four-month-old baby and the alleged rape of the mother in Atteridgeville, Tshwane. According to police, a pastor and his wife lured the woman to the Hennops River under the pretext of performing a ritual. She was tied up and allegedly raped before the couple fled with the baby. The pastor’s wife was arrested, and the baby was found buried in a shallow grave. Provincial government spokesperson Elijah Mhlanga says the pastor remains at large:

Moving abroad:

# New York federal prosecutors are reportedly planning to bring new charges against former Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. This is over the alleged torture of more than a dozen Americans who were wrongfully detained by the Venezuelan government under Maduro. In a lawsuit, Americans Matthew Heath and Osman Khan alleged they were subjected to electrocution, threats of sexual assault and drugs. Maduro and Flores were captured during a US military raid in Caracas in January on charges of alleged weapons and drug offences, which they deny.

# Rugby: Former New Zealand captain Scott Barrett returns to the starting line-up for the first time since November 2025, for Saturday’s opening Bledisloe Cup Test against Australia in Auckland. His brother, Beauden, replaces the injured Richie Mo’unga. Codie Taylor captains the side, and Shannon Frizell is on the bench and in line for his first Test since the 2023 World Cup final. Coach Dave Rennie says they have huge respect for the Wallabies and the way they have been playing:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-70-cents and the euro at 18-rand-68-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-3-cents and Bitcoin trades at 82-thousand-756-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-122-dollars-48-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 107-dollars-2-cents a barrel

Stay tuned for more news………….