News 06:00

BULLETIN 4 September 6 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Two South African girls trafficked to Malawi in 2024 have returned home
# Saai warns farmers to prepare for a drought risk
# And rugby: Babalwa Latsha leads an experienced Springbok women’s team against New Zealand

# Minister of Social Development Dina Pule says her department will continue to work closely with Interpol South Africa and other relevant law enforcement agencies in addressing cases of trafficking in children. This comes after two South African girls, aged 9 and 15, who were trafficked to Malawi in 2024, were safely repatriated. Minister Pule says the alleged trafficking involved a couple comprising a Malawian national residing in the Eastern Cape and a South African woman:

# The African Transformation Movement says president Cyril Ramaphosa has failed to deliver on his promise to hire ten-thousand additional labour inspectors. The party’s Zama Ntshona says more than six months after the promise, no new inspectors have been appointed. Ntshona is calling on the government to speed up recruitment and also increase the number of immigration officers to strengthen law enforcement and protect workers:

# The Southern African Agri Initiative has urged farmers to prepare early for a potentially dry 2026/2027 planting season. This follows warnings of higher temperatures and drought linked to El Niño conditions. Saai chairperson Theo de Jager says farmers should carefully plan their planting, budgets and water use, while also preparing for an increased risk of fires. De Jager added farmers need reliable weather information and timely support to manage the possible challenges ahead.

# The Western Cape government welcomes a Supreme Court of Appeal ruling upholding key parts of its education reforms. The court dismissed appeals by Equal Education and the teachers’ union SADTU, confirming the legality of collaboration schools, donor-funded schools, intervention facilities and the Western Cape Schools Evaluation Authority. Education MEC Jaco Londt says the ruling provides certainty for schools, parents, teachers and learners:

# Rugby: Babalwa Latsha will captain the Springbok Women against New Zealand’s Black Ferns at FNB Stadium in Johannesburg on Saturday. The first Test between the sides on South African soil kicks off at 1:30pm. Six of the forwards started against New Zealand in last year’s World Cup quarter-final, when the Black Ferns won 46-17. Co-head coach Laurian Johannes-Haupt says the squad has built greater depth since then and is ready for the challenge. She says the Springboks will stick to their physical style and focus on their own game plan.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 15-rand-99-cents and the euro at 18-rand-59-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-62-cents and Bitcoin trades at 81-thousand-200-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-473-dollars-44-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 97-dollars-91-cents a barrel.

# And finally: American feminist, journalist, and political activist Gloria Steinem has passed away at the age of 92. She became the face of second-wave feminism in the late 1960s and early 1970s and co-founded the Women’s Action Alliance, a group dedicated to fighting sexism, more than 50 years ago. In 2013, then-president Barack Obama awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honour in the US. In a statement, the Gloria’s Foundation says Steinem’s near-century on earth was years well-lived, and she continued working for equality until the very end.

Stay tuned for more news………….