News 15:00

BULLETIN 19 October 3 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Mbeki denies political interference to shield apartheid-era perpetrators
# French police admit to losing control as the unrest spreads
# And cricket: Rain also prevents play on the second morning of the second Test

# Former president Thabo Mbeki has told the Khampepe Commission he approved several presidential pardon applications during his tenure. The commission investigates alleged political interference in Truth and Reconciliation Commission cases. Mbeki says he pardoned 33 prisoners, including ANC and PAC members convicted of serious crimes. Critics argued some pardons bypassed the TRC’s amnesty process. Mbeki responded to questions from ecidence leader Ishmael Semenya, denouncing claims of shielding apartheid-era perpetrators:

# Forum for South Africa has expressed concern over escalating tensions between Pretoria and Washington and the potential threat to jobs. The US is expected to decice next month on whether South Africa remains part of the African Growth and Opportunity Act programme. Forum leader Tebogo Mashilompane says they are also concerned about the role of right-wing civil society organisations, particularly AfriForum and Solidarity, in lobbying in America and presenting a misleading picture of South Africa:

# The DA claims whistleblower tests have detected cholera bacteria at the Bronkhorstspruit wastewater treatment works. The party’s Cilliers Brink calls on Tshwane mayor Nasiphi Moya to release water-quality results, saying residents have a right to know if water is safe. More than 160 people have reportedly been hospitalised. Brink says the city failed to chlorinate water for three weeks before the outbreak. He says they will lay criminal charges today:

Moving abroad:

# France’s interior minister, Laurent Nuñez, has admitted police lost control in some major cities during weekend riots, as government faces mounting pressure to restore order. He says authorities failed to anticipate the scale of the violence, despite deploying 60-thousand security personnel. More than two-thousand-500 people have been arrested, and almost one-thousand security officials injured. President Emmanuel Macron earlier rejected Nuñez’s resignation and ordered an urgent review of security failures. Marseille has banned protests and public gatherings for eight hours today, while calls for wider curfews grow.

# Cricket: Rain continues to wreck havoc in the second Test between South Africa and Australia in Gqeberha. Less than 13 overs could be completed on the first day yesterday, and the whole morning’s play was also lost today because of rain and a wet outfield. The Proteas stood at 20 for two at stumps yesterday after Scott Boland took the wickets of Aiden Markram for 11 and David Bedingham for a duck. Australia won the first of the three Tests in Durban by 214 runs.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-42-cents and the euro at 18-rand-44-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-91-cents and Bitcoin trades at 82-thousand-71-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-170-dollars-25-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 110-dollars-10-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….