News 06:00

BULLETIN 9 September 6 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Geordin Hill-Lewis says urgent economic reforms are unavoidable
# South Africa has no plans for a blanket social media ban for children under 16
# And, Britain bans imports from Israeli settlements in the West Bank

# DA leader Geordin Hill-Lewis says the party is ready to work with the government to improve economic growth but will continue pushing for faster and more ambitious reforms. Hill-Lewis argues the government cannot afford slow reforms while millions of people remain unemployed. He called on president Cyril Ramaphosa and the government of national unity to speed up changes that could attract investment, improve infrastructure and create jobs:

# Minister of Correctional Services Pieter Groenewald has suspended four high-ranking department officials, pending the outcome of an investigation into allegations of fraud related to a coal supply tender. A criminal case has been registered with the Hawks. Minister Groenewald says a multi-layered forensic audit is being launched independently, which will map out every discrepancy within the tender process. He says this will lay the groundwork to secure airtight criminal prosecutions against the culpable parties.

# Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies Solly Malatsi has ruled out a ban on social media access for children under the age of 16. This is despite countries like Australia and Malaysia implementing an outright ban, amid mounting concerns over the impact of social media on children’s health and safety. In response to a Parliamentary question, Malatsi said there is currently no irrefutable indication that a general social media access ban for persons under 16 years old actually prevents them from being digitally active on such platforms.

# Golden Arrow Bus Services has approached the Cape Town Labour Court to stop a planned strike by the National Union for All Sectors from Thursday. The union says its members will strike from midnight over several issues, including disciplinary processes. The bus company disputes the allegations and respects workers’ right to lawful industrial action, while also having a responsibility to protect passengers, employees and the public. An update on the court proceedings will be provided today.

# The UK will ban the import of goods from Israeli settlements in the illegally occupied West Bank. Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband says there is ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in areas of the West Bank, perpetrated by settler “terrorists”. The sanctions also include a new ban on arms licences and personal sanctions against key individuals accused of promoting settler violence. Eleven countries, including France, Canada and Spain, will implement similar sanctions. Miliband says Israel’s occupation of the West Bank is unlawful:

# Motorsport: New Zealand driver Liam Lawson will again drive Isack Hadjar’s Red Bull in this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix in Madrid after the Frenchman failed to recover from a wrist injury which kept him out of the previous two Formula One races. Lawson’s place at Racing Bulls will be taken by Japanese driver Yuki Tsunoda. The team says Lawson will continue to drive alongside Dutch driver Max Verstappen after racing in the Dutch and the Italian Grand Prix. Hadjar currently sits eighth in the drivers’ championship.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 15-rand-98-cents and the euro at 18-rand-59-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-64-cents and Bitcoin trades at 78-thousand-492-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-354-dollars-43-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 101-dollars-1-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….