News 11:00

BULLETIN 22 October 11 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# South African Canegrowers says a non-governmental organisation is misleading the public on sugar tax
# Scores of Nelson Mandela Bay residents are evacuated due to heavy rains and floods
# And rugby: Two uncapped players are included in Wales’ squad for their November Tests

# SA Canegrowers accuses an American-funded non-governmental organisation, Healthy Living Alliance, of misleading the public about the proposed doubling of the sugar tax on sweetened beverages. They argue this push is based on misinformation and threatens the livelihoods of thousands of small-scale sugar growers. SA Canegrowers’ CEO, Thomas Funke, says many factors contribute to South Africa’s nutrition challenges beyond just sugar consumption:  

# Home Affairs minister Leon Schreiber says between April and August, the department has deported 19-thousand-750 illegal immigrants. In a written parliamentary reply, he says this has cost taxpayers 52-million-rand. The minister says there are 68-thousand-991 active refugees in the country, mostly from Somalia, Ethiopia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. There are 94-thousand-416 asylum seekers. Schreiber says increased funding for the Border Management Authority is urgently required.

# Severe flooding following heavy rain overnight has resulted in scores of Eastern Cape residents, particularly in Gqeberha and Kariega, being evacuated. They are now being housed in community halls and schools. A level six warning of heavy rain was issued yesterday. Gift of the Givers’ operations manager, Ali Sablay, told the SABC they are currently in contact with the local disaster management teams who are identifying and trying to evacuate more residents in different areas:

# Disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein has been diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia, a form of bone marrow cancer. He is undergoing treatment in prison at Rikers Island in New York. In April, the New York Court of Appeals overturned Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction. He is tentatively set to be retried on November 12. However, Manhattan prosecutors are trying to combine his original 2020 sexual crimes with a new criminal indictment, a move his legal team has objected to.

# Rugby: Wales’ coach, Warren Gatland, has named two uncapped players, Freddie Thomas and Blair Murray, in a 35-strong squad for their upcoming Tests against Fiji, Australia, and South Africa. Thirty-one-year-old scrumhalf Rhodri Williams has been recalled, more than ten years after his last Welsh cap. Hooker Dewi Lake retains the captaincy. Wales have lost their last nine Tests. Gatland says he is happy about the balance of the squad:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-51-cents and the euro at 18-rand-97-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-79-cents and Bitcoin trades at 67-thousand-574-dollars-34-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-735-dollars-51-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 73-dollars-77-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….