News 15:00

BULLETIN 23 October 3 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Cele says his dismissal as police commissioner in 2011 was due to his refusal to follow some orders
# Rugby: The Sharks make minimal changes for the URC match against Scarlets
# And government confirms the Kruger National Park’s name remains unchanged

# Former Police minister Bheki Cele says his 2011 suspension and later dismissal as national commissioner was the result of his refusal to carry out certain orders, not misconduct. Testifying before Parliament’s ad hoc committee, Cele explained that he was accused of wrongdoing over a lease for new police headquarters after the old Pretoria building was condemned. He says the Public Protector’s findings led to his suspension, calling the process unfair and politically driven:

# The Independent Financial Advisors Forum rejects the DA’s Economic Inclusion for All Bill as a regressive attempt to erase the central role of race in South Africa’s history of exclusion. Spokesperson Njabulo Majola says it is undeniable that broad-based black economic empowerment has faced challenges, including elite capture and fronting. He says the solution is not to abolish transformation, but to strengthen enforcement:

Moving abroad: 

# Russia says new US sanctions on its oil industry risked hurting diplomatic efforts to end the Ukrainian war, adding it was immune to them. China also announced it opposes recent sanctions slapped by the United States on the two largest Russian oil companies over Moscow’s war in Ukraine, saying they had no basis in international law. US president Donald Trump announced the measures yesterday after plans for a fresh summit with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin collapsed. Trump complained that talks weren’t going anywhere.

# Rugby: The Sharks want to close out the first stage of the season on a high against Scarlets in Durban on Saturday before the United Rugby Championship pauses for international matches. Eben Etzebeth leads the team with one rotational change to the pack where Emmanuel Tshituka and Phepsi Buthelezi swap jerseys, while the suspension of Makazole Mapimpi sees Edwill van der Merwe shift from fullback to wing. Jordan Hendrikse starts in the number 15 jersey. Centre Lukhanyo Am replaces Jurenzo Julius, the latter providing cover off the bench.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-36-cents and the euro at 20-rand-12-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-16-cents and Bitcoin trades at 109-thousand-487-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-114-dollars-41-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 65-dollars-33-cents a barrel.

# And finally: The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment has confirmed that no name change has been authorised for the Kruger National Park. The official name remains unchanged under the National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act. The department’s spokesperson, Thobile Zulu-Molobi, says there are no plans or requests to alter the park’s name. She warns against spreading misinformation and urges the public to rely on official government sources for accurate information:

Stay tuned for more news………….