News 18:00

BULLETIN 23 October 6 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Cosatu calls for a lasting solution to retired soldiers’ medical fund crisis
# A Grade 8 learner accused of stabbing two learners at Somerset West school
# And, Japan to simulate cyberattacks as PHP flaws disrupt the global internet

# Union federation Cosatu says urgent, long-term solutions are needed to address the financial crisis facing the medical fund for retired South African National Defence Force members and their dependants. This follows an 840-million-rand government funding injection to help safeguard the fund’s medical benefits. The union federation’s Matthew Parks says the government must honour its obligations to former military personnel and ensure they continue to have access to healthcare:

# Parliament’s select committee on Security and Justice is calling for rigorous internal reforms within the South African Police Service. The committee has concluded its review of the police’s 2025/2026 annual report, expressing concern over the persistent audit findings raised by the Auditor-General. Material findings on reported performance information increased by 35.71-percent, from 14 findings in the previous cycle to 19. Committee chairperson Jane Seboletswe says that while it welcomes SAPS’ sixth consecutive unqualified audit opinion, financial cleanliness cannot mask severe governance, compliance and performance failures.

# Two learners have been injured after an alleged stabbing incident at Helderberg High School in Somerset West. The incident occurred this morning, when a grade eight learner allegedly confronted four other learners before stabbing two of them. Police spokesperson Frederick van Wyk says an investigation is underway and no arrests have been made:

 # Japan will establish a team to use artificial intelligence to simulate cyberattacks and identify weaknesses in computer systems. This comes as governments and businesses worldwide race to secure websites after critical flaws were discovered in programming language PHP, used to run many websites. Japanese mobile operator SoftBank has suspended its emergency alert system while addressing a PHP vulnerability. Customers will not receive warnings for earthquakes, tsunamis or evacuation information through that service. Officials say IT security teams must use A-I proactively to identify weaknesses before attackers exploit them.

# Soccer: Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso says his team will treat today’s CAF Champions League second-leg clash against Angola’s Wiliete SC as a cup final. The teams meet at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria after a goalless first-leg draw. Sundowns must win to reach the group stage, while another goalless draw would force a penalty shootout. The coach says there’s no room for complacency ahead of the match tonight at 8 pm.:

 # And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-62-cents against the rand and the euro at 18-rand-61-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-23-cents and Bitcoin trades at 81-thousand-647-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-994-dollars-89-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 117-dollars-27-cents a barrel.

 Stay tuned for more news………….