News 14:00

BULLETIN 23 October 2 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Five men are shot and killed in New Brighton, Gqeberha
# Police arrest two suspects linked to mass murders in Bityi in the Eastern Cape
# And inflation drops to 3.8-percent, paving the way for a November interest rate cut

# Eastern Cape police have launched a manhunt for suspects following the recovery of the bodies of five men inside a shack at Chris Hani informal settlement in New Brighton, Gqeberha. Police spokesperson Majola Nkohli says they received a complaint of a shooting at a shack and found the bodies with multiple gunshot wounds:

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Meanwhile, two suspects were arrested in connection with Friday’s murder of five family members in Bityi in the Eastern Cape. Police spokesperson Siphokazi Mawisa says an in-depth investigation led them to the two people, aged 22 and 39, in Msukweni. She says police were then taken to a place where an unlicensed firearm and ammunition were recovered:

# Revenue Service commissioner Edward Kieswetter says SARS is not a political tool, and he denies any targeting of individuals regarding their tax affairs. This response follows the EFF’s Omphile Maotwe’s allegations in Parliament about targeting party leader Julius Malema. Reporting a record revenue of over 1.74-trillion-rand, Kieswetter emphasised SARS’s independence from political influence, stating he would rather resign than take instruction from any political party. He gave an assurance that their methodologies are based solely on data science and evidence.

# South Africa’s inflation rate fell to 3.8-percent last month, down from 4.4-percent in August, marking the lowest rate since early 2021. This is the fourth month in a row that inflation has fallen, mainly due to lower transport costs as fuel prices dropped by nine-percent from last year. Statistics South Africa’s Patrick Kelly says the decline has raised expectations of a 25-basis point interest rate cut when the Reserve Bank’s monetary policy committee meets next month: 

# Soccer: English club Nottingham Forest’s owner, Evangelos Marinakis, has been handed a five-match stadium ban after spitting near officials. An independent regulatory commission found him guilty of improper conduct, for spitting on the floor as match officials walked past in the tunnel following Forest’s one-nil Premier League defeat to Fulham last month. Manager Nuno Espirito Santo and midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White were also suspended for a separate incident during a two-all draw between Forest and Brighton last month.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-60-cents and the euro at 18-rand-98-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-85-cents and Bitcoin trades at 66-thousand-468-dollars-43-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-751-dollars-5-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 74-dollars-99-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….