News 13:00

BULLETIN 17 October 1 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The national police commissioner says attacks on police members and all law enforcement officials must never be tolerated
# There are concerns over foreign nationals benefiting from the Road Accident Fund
# And cricket: The Proteas Women captain says Australia is beatable

# National police commissioner Fannie Masemola has warned that all those who attack police member under whatever guise will be made to face the full wrath of the law through prosecution. Police spokesperson Athlenda Mathe says the Mthatha High Court in the Eastern Cape yesterday sentenced five men to life imprisonment for the murder of five police members at Engcobo police station in 2018. She says an attack on a police official must never be tolerated:

# The Road Accident Fund has expressed concern over foreign nationals benefiting from the country’s social schemes. CEO Collins Letsoalo told Parliament’s standing committee on Public Accounts that the fund’s biggest beneficiary is a Swiss national who was paid more than 500-million-rand. He says some claimants should not be permitted to benefit from the system:

# Western Cape Premier Alan Winde is taking action to resolve delays at Home Affairs following complaints. During unannounced visits to Social Development offices in Ladismith and Robertson, the premier heard frustrations about the slow issuing of identification documents for children needing state support. He committed to taking up these issues with colleagues in Social Development and the government of national unity. Winde also highlighted the importance of timely access to critical identification for residents.

# Cricket: Proteas Women captain Laura Wolvaardt believes they have the talent to beat defending champions Australia in the T20 World Cup semifinal in Dubai today. This is a rematch of last year’s final at Newlands in Cape Town, when Australia claimed its sixth title, winning by 19 runs. The other semifinal, which will be played tomorrow, will see the West Indies take on New Zealand. Wolvaardt says they need to be at their very best:

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-74-cents and the euro at 19-rand-25-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-3-cents and Bitcoin trades at 67-thousand-424-dollars-27-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-678-dollars-58-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 74-dollars-49-cents a barrel.

# And finally: Conservationists have found at least eight species of bats using a collection of abandoned coal mines in the English county Yorkshire as a prime mating spot. The mineshafts and surrounding moorland near Barnsley have become an autumn swarming location. Female bats only give birth to one offspring each year, so swarming is critical for raising the next generation of bats. Conservationists say monitoring projects like these are important since bats as a group provide an excellent indicator of the wider health of their eco-system.

Stay tuned for more news………….