News 18:00

BULLETIN 23 October 6 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The DA welcomes the arrest of Louis Liebenberg and his co-accused in an alleged four-billion-rand scam
# COSATU welcomes the inflation drop and urges the Reserve Bank to cut the repo rate
# And Commonwealth Games: India is upset over the axing of its favourite sports in Glasgow

# The DA has welcomed the arrest of Louis Liebenberg, his wife Dezzi, and seven associates for their alleged involvement in a four-billion-rand diamond investment scam. Liebenberg is known for funding Jacob Zuma’s legal battles. DA spokesperson Willie Aucamp praised former member of Parliament Veronica van Dyk’s role in exposing the scheme, despite facing intimidation and lawsuits:

# Union federation Cosatu has welcomed the drop in consumer inflation from 4.4-to 3.8-percent, saying it offers relief to struggling workers. Spokesperson Matthew Parks is urging the South African Reserve Bank to reduce the repo rate by at least 50 basis points to ease debt burdens. He also calls for government intervention to stabilise Eskom and reduce fuel prices:

# A bacterial infection was responsible for killing at least nine monkeys at a Hong Kong zoo. Authorities say the animals died of sepsis after catching melioidosis. The bacteria found in the monkeys’ organs, likely came from soil near their habitat. The bacteria causing melioidosis is common in moist clay soil. It can affect both humans and animals, but is unlikely to be passed from animals to humans. Authorities have cordoned off the mammal section as a precaution.

# Commonwealth Games: India is up in arms over some of the sporting disciplines the country usually perform well in, being axed from the Games planned for Glasgow in 2026. This was done to save costs after the Australian state of Victoria withdrew as hosts. Other cities and countries weren’t prepared to host it before the Scottish city stepped in. The Games will only feature 10 sporting codes. During the 2022 Games in Birmingham, India won 30 medals in items which will not feature in Glasgow.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-77-cents and the euro at 19-rand-17-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-3-cents and Bitcoin trades at 66-thousand-542-dollars-50-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-729-dollars-3-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 75-dollars-64-cents a barrel.

# And finally: A Standard Bank analysis reveals that nearly half of salary earners are left with less than one-thousand-rand or face negative balances by payday. According to the analysis of 402-thousand individuals, 21-percent had one-thousand-rand or less, and 28-percent were in the red. Head of Personal and Private Banking, Kabelo Makeke, emphasises the need for better financial management strategies to combat lifestyle inflation. He urges people to prioritise budgeting and emergency savings for financial stability.

Stay tuned for more news………….