News 17:00

BULLETIN 27 September 5 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# ActionSA is to take the Hlophe matter to Parliament’s Constitutional Review Committee
# Bantu Holomisa honours 42 liberation heroes as selfless people who stood against apartheid
# And tennis: An easy start for Carlos Alcaraz in the China Open

# ActionSA will refer John Hlophe’s case to Parliament’s Constitutional Review Committee, following a High Court interdict blocking his Judicial Service Commission appointment. ActionSA’s parliamentary chief whip, Lerato Ngobeni, questions inconsistencies in eligibility criteria for public office. She says the party seeks reforms for standards like parliamentary positions, including the JSC:

# Deputy minister of Defence Bantu Holomisa has praised 42 late liberation heroes for their unwavering dedication against apartheid. He addressed a homecoming ceremony in Pretoria. Holomisa called them selfless heroes who bravely fought for South Africa’s freedom and dignity. He emphasised that their sacrifices knew no bounds, and the country acknowledges their contributions to justice and equality for all South Africans:

# The Gauteng Department of Health says it is prioritising reforms to achieve a clean audit outcome by enhancing governance, procurement processes, and service delivery. Efforts are underway to address audit findings, particularly in medical and mental health services. The department’s Motalatale Modiba announced that key medico-legal claims had been successfully reduced from 18-billion-rand to 13.2-billion-rand, showing a major improvement in financial management: 

# Donald Trump has agreed to meet president Volodymyr Zelensky despite repeatedly criticising him on the US campaign trail. The Republican presidential nominee said the Ukrainian leader will visit Trump Tower today. Trump has repeatedly criticised Zelensky for refusing to make a deal with Moscow. He was impeached in 2019 over accusations that he pressured Zelensky to dig up dirt on the Biden family. Zelensky already met president Joe Biden and vice-president Kamala Harris about his victory plan, which he hopes will pressure Russia into a diplomatic end to the war.

# Tennis: World number three Carlos Alcaraz had an easy start to the China Open, beating Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard 6-4, 6-4 in their round of 32 match. But the Spaniard wasn’t happy with the umpire who gave him two time violations in the first set, saying this wasn’t tennis. Alcaraz and world number one, Jannik Sinner of Italy, earlier shared a light moment in the gym after contrasting opinions about the hectic ATP tour schedule. Sinner yesterday needed three sets to beat Nicolas Jarry of Chile.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-8-cents and the euro at 19-rand-13-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-93-cents and Bitcoin trades at 65-thousand-738-dollars-20-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-670-dollars-22-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 70-dollars-89-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….