News 12:00

BULLETIN 3 September 12 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Foschini Group plans to close 280 stores across South Africa, the UK and Australia
# An organisation calls for peaceful nationwide gatherings to demand an increase in the grant for pensioners
# And rugby: Bok hooker Johan Grobbelaar commits to the Bulls until 2030

# The Foschini Group has announced plans to close about 280 stores across South Africa, the UK, and Australia by 2029 following a severe drop in global retail spending. The fashion giant, hit hard by international brand impairments, warns its full-year earnings per share could plunge by up to 65-percent. CEO Anthony Thunström says the strategic rationalisation is a necessary response to persistent economic headwinds across its primary markets. The closures will primarily impact underperforming locations .

# Activists and Citizens Forum has welcomed the dismissal of Crime Intelligence deputy head Feroz Khan, saying it believes this will restore the Police Service’s integrity and credibility. His dismissal follows his failure to appear before an internal disciplinary hearing over misconduct allegations against him. The forum’s spokesperson, Dennis Bloem, says it’s encouraging to see that police management is serious about cleaning up the service by getting rid of questionable characters:

# Pensioners of South Africa is calling on older persons, community organisations and supporters to participate in peaceful nationwide gatherings outside SASSA offices on Monday. Founder, Chef JC, says they demand that the older persons grant of two-thousand-400-rand per month be increased to five-thousand. He says this would provide a more dignified and liveable level of support for older persons and help them meet their basic needs with greater security and dignity:

Moving abroad:

# The World Health Organisation says two new vaccines against the Bundibugyo virus of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo are now in safety trials in the UK and Canada. The official death toll from the DRC’s deadliest-ever Ebola outbreak stands at over three-thousand. The province of Ituri remains the epicentre, accounting for 88-percent of deaths. Another vaccine is being developed by the US-based Moderna group. The WHO says efficacy trials for all three potential vaccines should start in the DRC in October or November.

# Rugby: Springbok hooker Johan Grobbelaar will play for the Bulls until 2030, extending his stay in Pretoria after joining in 2017. He played over 100 matches for the union’s different teams, and ten Tests for South Africa since his debut in 2024. The Bulls say in a statement 30-year-old Grobbelaar is a cornerstone of the forward pack and the extention of his contract reinforces their strategy of retaining world-class talent and core leadership. It says he embodies everything the Bulls stand for.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-5-cents and the euro at 18-rand-62-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-66-cents and Bitcoin trades at 77-thousand-887-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-435-dollars-40-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 97-dollars-46-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….