News 15:00

BULLETIN 4 October 3 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The MK Party’s lawyer warns excluding John Hlophe from the JSC’s judges’ interviews risks unconstitutionality
# Melania Trump’s stance on abortions is the opposite of her husband’s
# And rugby: Ben-Jason Dixon starts for the Stormers against Zebre Parma

# The MK Party’s lawyer, Dali Mpofu, has cautioned that excluding fired Judge John Hlophe from the Judicial Service Commission’s judges’ interviews could lead to unconstitutional outcomes. The party is seeking an urgent interdict from the High Court in Johannesburg to stop the JSC from meeting next week. The commission has refused to postpone the meeting, claiming Hlophe’s absence won’t affect its operations. Mpofu insists the JSC cannot proceed with its interviews, without resolving these legal issues:  

# The African Transformation Movement welcomes the Constitutional Court’s decision to review Parliament’s handling of the Phala Phala case. The party says Parliament failed to investigate serious allegations against president Cyril Ramaphosa after the theft at his Limpopo farm, including his decision to report it to his security team instead of the police. ATM spokesperson Zama Ntshona hopes the court will ensure Ramaphosa is held accountable:

# Former American first lady Melania Trump believes there is no room for compromise when it comes to a woman’s individual freedom. The Guardian has published excerpts from her forthcoming book in which she says she supports abortion rights, free from any intervention or pressure from government. Her defence of abortion rights puts her at odds with her husband’s position roughly a month from election day. Former president Donald Trump repeatedly said he would veto a federal abortion ban and the issue should be left to states to legislate.

# Rugby: Springbok loose forward Ben-Jason Dixon comes into the Stormers’ starting line-up for their United Rugby Championship encounter with Zebre Parma tomorrow. Dixon will start at blindside flank for the clash with the Italian side, which kicks off at 8:35 pm. Prop Sazi Sandi, scrumhalf Dewaldt Duvenage and fullback Warrick Gelant are all set to make their first appearances of the season from a replacements bench that also features loose forward Louw Nel, who will make his Stormers debut when he takes the field.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-25-cents and the euro at 19-rand-25-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-99-cents and Bitcoin trades at 61-thousand-424-dollars-68-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-658-dollars-71-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 78-dollars-70-cents a barrel.

# And finally: South Africans have been urged to act in solidarity with the estimated 19-thousand Ukrainian children forcibly deported by Russia during its invasion. The Bring Kids Back UA task force has launched an online petition urging the international community to condemn these abductions, demand the children’s return, and ensure global access to facilities holding them. The task force says this aligns with South Africa’s human rights legacy, allowing citizens to stand against these violations.

Stay tuned for more news………….