News 13:00

BULLETIN 22 October 1 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Witness B lifts the lid on intense threats and interference in the Armand Swart murder probe
# A suspect is arrested in connection with the deadly Bronkhorstspruit tavern shooting
# And tennis: Italy is unhappy about Jannik Sinner’s decision not to play in the Davis Cup

# Witness B has revealed severe threats and interference while investigating the murder of engineer Armand Swart, who was shot outside his workplace in Vereeniging, Gauteng, in April last year. Testifying from a secret location before the Madlanga commission, she said together with Witness A, they were placed under police protection after being threatened. B added the killing was a well-planned hit carried out by former detective Michael Pule Tau, Musa Kekana, and Tiego Mabusela, who used burner phones to avoid detection:

# Gauteng police have arrested a suspect linked to the tavern shooting in Zithobeni, Bronkhorstspruit, earlier this month, which claimed the lives of five people. Two men entered the establishment on Sunday, October fifth and demanded that one of the patrons hand over his licensed firearm. During the botched robbery, the suspects opened fire at random, killing five people and wounding six others. Police spokesperson, Brenda Muridili, says the suspect was arrested in Zithobeni:

# Six men accused of murdering Kaizer Chiefs defender Luke Fleurs are appearing in the Palm Ridge Magistrate’s Court in Gauteng today. The 24-year-old was shot dead during a hijacking at a Roodepoort petrol station in April last year. The six are facing charges of murder, aggravated robbery, and the illegal possession of firearms. Police believe the accused are part of a Gauteng car-hijacking syndicate. Investigations to arrest more suspects are continuing.

# The South African Friends of Israel says after years of diplomatic blunders and ideological prostituting, the ANC has shown it cannot be trusted to represent the country internationally. It is demanding that the ANC relinquish control of the Department of International Relations and Cooperation and hand it over to a government of national unity. SAFI’s Bafana Modise says a new minister from outside the ANC ranks would signal to both citizens and global partners that South Africa is serious about rebuilding its integrity, investment appeal, and global relationships.

# Tennis: World number two Jannik Sinner is facing a backlash in Italy over his decision not to represent his country in the Davis Cup Finals. He led Italy to consecutive titles in the previous two years, but opted out this year. The Davis Cup is played the week after the ATP Finals and Sinner says he needs that week to recuperate. Local magazine Gazzetta dello Sport points out he regularly promotes Italian products such as pasta and coffee, and asks him to do it with tennis, too.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-47-cents and the euro at 20-rand-26-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-27-cents and Bitcoin trades at 107-thousand-944-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-and-73-dollars-40-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 61-dollars-99-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….