News 13:00

BULLETIN 26 August 1 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# A murder probe in Knysna takes a deadly turn
# A Yellow Level 2 warning is issued for damaging winds expected in the Western Cape
# And tennis: A victorious return to Flushing Meadows for Roger Federer

# A police captain investigating the murder of former Knysna mayor Aubrey Tsengwa was killed in a shootout this morning. The Tactical Response Team officer was deployed to the Western Cape Town to probe Tsengwa’s killing and the murders of two other ANC politicians, Mandla Matiwane and Mandla Tyololo, last week. The unnamed officer died during an operation at the Sewendelaan informal settlement targeting illegal firearms. Police spokesperson Novela Potelwa says a 38-year-old suspect was also killed in the shootout.

# The Western Cape E-Hailing Association and Operation Ubuntu are calling on Airports Company South Africa and the police to urgently address the ongoing assault of e-hailing drivers at Cape Town International Airport. Men wearing balaclavas are allegedly intimidating and attacking e-hailing drivers. Operation Ubuntu’s spokesperson, July Eccles, says the inaction by ACSA and police is putting the lives of drivers and commuters at risk:

# The South African Weather Service has issued a Yellow Level 2 warning for damaging winds along the Western Cape coast today. The hazardous conditions are expected to spread eastwards towards Plettenberg Bay during the afternoon. Mossel Bay Municipality spokesperson, Cornelle Carstens-Johnston, says the strong winds could make navigation difficult and disrupt small harbours, ports and beach activities:

Moving abroad:

# The Centre for Human Rights in Iran has strongly condemned Tehran’s proposed legislation to criminalise contact and interviews with foreign media. This comes amid a broader state crackdown on foreign information sharing. The legislation, which is being discussed by lawmakers, could see violators face between six months and two years in prison. The centre says this is not simply an attack on journalists and citizen journalists, but an attempt to sever the entire Iranian society from the rest of the world by criminalising the free flow of information itself.

# Tennis: Swiss maestro Roger Federer made a victorious return to Flushing Meadows in New York in exhibition matches featuring former champions before the start of the US Open. The 45-year-old first beat Andy Roddick in a singles match before teaming up with John McEnroe to beat Roddick and another American, Andre Agassi. The stands of the Arthur Ash Stadium were packed with adoring fans watching their heroes from yesteryear. Federer won five of his 20 Grand Slam titles at the tournament, which starts on Sunday.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 15-rand-94-cents and the euro at 18-rand-59-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-72-cents and Bitcoin trades at 78-thousand-416-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-616-dollars-46-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 87-dollars-36-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….