News 07:00

BULLETIN 7 September 7 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Firoz Cachalia calls for a police service that earns the trust of its communities
# The judgment on Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula’s discharge application is expected today
# And cricket: The Proteas beat Zimbabwe to claim the T20 Tri-Series

# Acting Police minister Firoz Cachalia says the best way to honour fallen officers is to build a police service grounded in professionalism, discipline, integrity and courage. Yesterday marked the annual SAPS National Commemoration Day in Pretoria, where 12 officers who died in the line of duty between April last year and March this year were honoured. They were killed while responding to crimes, pursuing suspects or protecting others. Cachalia says action has been taken against those responsible for these murders:

# The North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria is expected to deliver judgment on former National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula’s Section 174 discharge application. She faces 12 counts of corruption and one count of money laundering relating to her tenure as Defence and Military Veterans minister between 2016 and 2019. The State alleges that Defence Force contractor Nombasa Ntsondwa-Ndlhovu paid about 4.55-million-rand in bribes to Mapisa-Nqakula. Her legal team has argued that the State has failed to present enough evidence to convict her.

# ActionSA has raised concerns over reports that the DA is considering promoting Cape Town councillor Abdulkader “AK” Elyas to Parliament or the Western Cape Legislature. ActionSA Western Cape chairperson Dereleen James says Elyas was found guilty in an internal DA disciplinary process of falsifying qualifications and dishonesty. James is calling on the DA to explain the reported deployment, saying public representatives must uphold the highest standards of honesty and integrity.

# US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner say they held meaningful, substantive discussions with Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky. Yesterday’s meeting came a day after the envoys held three hours of talks in Moscow on Saturday with Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin. Zelensky and Putin agreed to halt strikes on each other’s capitals for three days while the negotiators carry out their trip. Kushner, who is president Donald Trump’s son-in-law, says the president was very determined to see an end to this war:

# Cricket: The Proteas secured a commanding 48-run victory over Zimbabwe to clinch the T20 Tri-Series title in Windhoek, Namibia. Jordan Hermann claimed his maiden T20 half-century, scoring 53 off 29 balls to help South Africa post 205 for five. In reply, Bjorn Fortuin and Duan Jansen took three wickets each as Zimbabwe were bowled out for 157 in 18 overs. The Proteas will now turn their attention to the three-match ODI series against host Namibia, with the opening game set for Wednesday.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 15-rand-96-cents and the euro at 18-rand-53-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-56-cents and Bitcoin trades at 79-thousand-866-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-410-dollars-65-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 98-dollars-31-cents a barrel.

# And finally: The South African Depression and Anxiety Group’s Operations Director, Cassey Chambers, has called for swift action to address suicide. This is as September is recognised as Suicide Prevention Month. Speaking to the SABC, Chambers says suicide is the second leading cause of death among 15-to-29-year-olds, while men account for about 80-percent of deaths. She highlighted that untreated depression and financial pressure are amongst contributing factors, and urges people to seek help:

Stay tuned for more news………….