News 18:00

BULLETIN 28 September 6 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Thabo Mbeki Foundation releases a monograph on the ties between the USA and South African
# SpaceX launches Starship on its first orbital attempt
# And soccer, the Irish coach is proud of his players for the stance they took in the controversial game against Israel

# The Thabo Mbeki Foundation has published a monograph examining relations between South Africa and the United States, focusing on the future of Afrikaners and racial redress. The 123-page paper discusses US support for Afrikaner organisations seeking greater cultural and political autonomy, and the potential impact on South Africa’s post-apartheid settlement. It also compares South Africa’s redress policies with US responses to racial inequality. The foundation warns that abandoning efforts to address historical inequality could deepen racial divisions and social instability.

# The South African Communist Party is calling for the improvement of law enforcement in townships and rural areas to prevent crime. This follows the recent mass shootings in Gauteng, the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, which claimed the lives of over 40 people. The SACP says the heartlessness of the killings demands concerted national action against violent crimes. It calls on law enforcement authorities to hunt down the killers so that they can face the full might of the law.

# As the world marks International Rabies Day under the theme “Stronger together”, Western Cape Agriculture MEC Dr Ivan Meyer praised veterinarians and animal health technicians combating rabies. In 2025/26, teams administered 132-thousand-458 rabies vaccinations to dogs, cats, cattle and horses worth over 1.2-million-rand, as part of broader disease prevention. Meyer urges owners to report suspected cases, saying every vaccination brings the province closer to eliminating human rabies caused by interaction with pets:

# SpaceX has launched its giant Starship rocket on its first attempt to reach orbit around Earth. The uncrewed vehicle lifted off from the company’s Starbase facility in Texas on its 14th test flight. The nearly ten-hour mission aims to send Starship around Earth about six times before a planned splashdown in the Pacific Ocean. The spacecraft is also carrying 26 Starlink satellites, which it will attempt to deploy in orbit. All 13 previous Starship test flights followed suborbital trajectories, making this the first attempt to achieve a full orbit.

# Soccer: Ireland’s head coach, Heimir Hallgrimsson, is proud of his team’s stance in their 3-0 victory over Israel in their controversial Nations League fixture in Hungary. Players did not shake hands, and Ireland’s players bowed their heads during Israel’s national anthem. They also wore black armbands, with Ireland’s governing body saying it was in recognition for all lives lost in the Israeli-Gaza conflict. Hallgrimsson says they have learnt a lot from this:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-40-cents against the rand and the euro at 18-rand-64-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-76-cents and Bitcoin trades at 83-thousand-361-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-132-dollars-79-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 103-dollars-45-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….