News 16:00

BULLETIN 28 September 4 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Freedom Front Plus demands a crackdown on AK-47 networks and illegal mining gangs
# Rugby: The Wallabies improve to sixth in the world rankings after beating the Boks
# And two giant pandas arrive at an Atlanta zoo

# The FF Plus in Gauteng says when eight heavily armed attackers with AK-47s can storm a tavern and kill 18 people and wound 15 others, organised armed crime in parts of the province is out of control. The party’s Jaco Mulder welcomes the first arrest in Tzaneen, Limpopo, but says crime intelligence should have disrupted the network earlier. He demands intelligence be strengthened and illegal mining gangs dismantled:

Meanwhile, Alliance of Citizens for Change has condemned the weekend’s deadly mass shootings in Gauteng and the Western Cape. Ten people were also killed in Lwandle, Cape Town, yesterday morning. The alliance’s spokesperson, Masizole Mnqasela, says the mass shootings reinforce their call for the reinstatement of the death penalty:

# The GOOD Party terminated Sarah Mabotsa’s membership and removed her as a councillor in Tshwane. She served as mayoral committee member for Economic Development and Spatial Planning and was recently announced as Rise Mzansi’s mayoral candidate for the metro under a cooperation framework between the two parties. GOOD’s Brett Herron says the decision follows breaches of the party’s constitution. He says they will inform the IEC and the city manager:

# Rugby: The Wallabies improved one position to sixth in the world rankings after beating top-ranked South Africa in Perth yesterday. Australia would also have surpassed England if they won by 15 points, but four yellow cards in the final eleven minutes saw them squander a 42-17 lead to eventually win 42-38. New Zealand is still second, followed by Ireland, France, England, Australia, Scotland, Argentina, Japan and Fiji. The Wallabies, unbeaten in their last six Tests, face the All Blacks in two Bledisloe Cup matches next month.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-39-cents against the rand and the euro at 18-rand-64-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-73-cents and Bitcoin trades at 83-thousand-264-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-159-dollars-82-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 103-dollars-99-cents a barrel.

# And finally: Two giant pandas have arrived at Zoo Atlanta in Georgia as part of a new conservation and research agreement with China. The pair were born at the Chengdu Research Base. The zoo previously housed giant pandas for 25 years before its earlier agreement with China ended in 2024. Seven cubs were born in Atlanta during that partnership before returning to China. The latest agreement will support panda conservation, research and education. The animals will spend about a month in quarantine before being shown to the public.

Stay tuned for more news………….