News 17:00

BULLETIN 30 September 5 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# COSATU welcomes president Ramaphosa’s gender-based violence and femicide interventions but warns against delays
# The SABC proposes hosting Parliament TV
# And: Leopards return to the West Coast after 170 years through natural recolonisation

# Union federation COSATU has welcomed president Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement of further interventions to tackle gender-based violence and femicide. The president outlined a multi-disciplinary national strategy which will involve a coordinated fact-finding mission including a full count of the backlog related to GBVF cases countrywide. COSATU’s Matthew Parks says the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement must provide police, the judiciary and the National Prosecuting Authority with the resources needed to tackle gender-based violence and femicide:

# The SABC has reiterated its proposal to host Parliament TV across its broadcast and digital platforms. The public broadcaster told Parliament’s portfolio committee on Communications and Digital Technologies its television, radio and streaming platforms, including SABC Plus, could expand access to national legislation. CEO Nomsa Chabeli says both institutions share a mandate to inform citizens, promote transparency and strengthen democratic engagement:

# Russian drone and missile attacks on Kyiv and surrounding areas have killed four people and damaged energy infrastructure. Ukrainian officials say two women and a 14-year-old child died in overnight strikes, while another person was killed when a warehouse in Kyiv was hit. Russia says it targeted power plants and other facilities supporting Ukraine’s military production. Ukraine’s air force says it intercepted 155 of 188 drones and five missiles. Kyiv was shrouded in smoke after the attacks, while emergency services urged residents to keep their windows closed.

# Tennis: Some big names of yesteryear will get together in Mallorca, Spain, for the Rafa Nadal Academy Slam on Saturday. The academy of the 22-time Grand Slam champion celebrates its tenth anniversary and Nadal invited his former coach, compatriot Carlos Moyá, another Spaniard, David Ferrer, and  Frenchman Richard Gasquet to join his team. They will be up against Team Murray, consisting of Andy Murray of Scotland, Italian Fabio Fognini, Russian Marat Safin and Austrian Dominic Thiem.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-34-cents against the rand and the euro at 18-rand-57-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-72-cents and Bitcoin trades at 85-thousand-427-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-210-dollars-45-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 101-dollars-38-cents a barrel.

# And finally: Seven leopards have returned to South Africa’s West Coast after disappearing 170 years ago, with the first confirmed sighting in the West Coast National Park captured on camera last year. General Manager Bool Smuts of the Landmark Foundation, a non-governmental conservation dedicated to human-wildlife conflict management, says the predators were hunted in the mid 1800s but a few survived in mountainous regions. He says natural recolonisation, without translocation, was aided by expanded protected areas and predator tolerance. Smuts believes their return after 170 years is something worth celebrating.

Stay tuned for more news………….