News 15:00

BULLETIN 8 October 3 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# News24 demands an apology after the March and March leader exposed a journalist’s cellphone number
# Soccer: South Korea’s captain apologises over his military service comments
# And the Canadian author Anne Carson wins the 2026 Nobel Prize in Literature

# News24 has served March and March leader Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma with a letter of demand after she posted investigative journalist Khaya Koko’s cellphone number on Facebook. The news platform says Koko has since received more than a hundred threatening calls and messages, including a death threat. The media organisation is demanding Ngobese-Zuma remove the post, apologise to Koko and undertake not to publish his personal information again. It says the threats may be criminal and violate Koko’s rights to privacy, dignity and safety. 

# Government’s Economic Cluster is urging the public to verify information about the proposed Employment Services Amendment Bill amid social media claims about its impact on refugees and asylum seekers. The bill seeks to legally regulate the employment of foreign nationals, proposing imposing a 100-thousand-rand fine on employers hiring illegal foreign workers as a first offence. Spokesperson Teboho Thejane says the bill, which is before Parliament, also seeks to strengthen labour-market regulation and compliance:

Moving abroad:

# A Chinese fishing boat identified as part of the country’s maritime militia has been spotted off Taiwan’s east coast for the first time, according to a surveillance report reviewed by Reuters. The vessel was operating alongside a Chinese coast guard boat and a research ship near Hualien in August. Taiwan says the boats were involved in what it describes as maritime harassment drills. Beijing has not commented. Taiwan considers its east coast important for potential wartime supply routes and says China has increased coast guard activity in the area since June.

# Soccer: South Korea’s captain, Lee Gi-hyuk, has apologised for gloating about avoiding mandatory military service after leading his country to Asian Games gold. After South Korea beat Japan 1-0 in the final, the 26-year-old held up his medal and celebrated that he would not have to serve. South Korean men are generally required to complete 18 to 21 months of military service, but Asian Games gold medallists receive an exemption, apart from basic training. Lee later said he should have thought more carefully before speaking.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-68-cents and the euro at 18-rand-65-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-1-cent and Bitcoin trades at 82-thousand-485-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-122-dollars-26-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 108-dollars-3-cents a barrel.

# And finally: Canadian author Anne Carson has won the 2026 Nobel Prize in Literature. The poet, translator and teacher was born in Toronto in 1950. Carson’s work draws on ancient Greek literature. Her notable works include Autobiography of Red, The Glass Essay and Nox. The Nobel committee’s Anders Olsson says Carson is being recognised for her bold and inventive body of work, which engages with classical traditions while creating new forms of contemporary literature:

Stay tuned for more news………….