News 13:00

BULLETIN 5 October 1 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# A criminologist says criminals are running amok in South Africa
# Up to 500 French schools are closed as learner protests continue
# And rugby: The first local derbies of the United Rugby Championship season take place this weekend

# Criminologist Chris Kanyane says criminals are running amok in South Africa amid a broken criminal justice system. This follows the recent mass shootings in Gauteng, the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal that left over 30 people dead. Kanyane says collapsing investigations, low convictions and under-resourced police have emboldened offenders, leaving communities to live in fear. He cautioned that unless policing, forensics and court efficiency are fixed, violent crime will continue to surge. Kanyane says the mass killings represent a deeper public safety crisis in the country.

# The DA in Tshwane is demanding an immediate security assessment of Wonderboom Airport after security contracts expired on 30 September. The airport supports more than two-thousand-500 people, accommodates dozens of aviation businesses and records more than 148-thousand aircraft movements annually. The DA’s Dana Wannenburg says Tshwane has allowed security contracts to expire at a time when one of its most strategically important and valuable facilities appears dangerously exposed:

# The South African Democratic Teachers’ Union is calling for greater recognition of women in the teaching profession, highlighting their vital role in shaping future generations. Today is World Teachers’ Day under the theme, “Standing with teachers: 60 years of protecting the profession, advancing its status and shaping our futures”. SADTU’s spokesperson, Nomusa Cembi, says while women make up the majority of teachers, men continue to dominate leadership positions:

In France, up to 500 high schools are fully or partly closed today as learner protests over education conditions continue. Education minister Édouard Geffray says the closures are a security precaution, with further demonstrations planned for tomorrow. The protests began last month over teacher shortages, overcrowded classrooms and poorly maintained school buildings, while some have turned violent. Geffray says 24 schools have been burned or ransacked, while at least 170 learners and 78 teachers have been injured. More than five-thousand people have been arrested, most of them teenagers.

# Rugby: The first local derbies of the new United Rugby Championship season take place this coming weekend when the Stormers and the Sharks meet in Cape Town, and the Bulls and the Lions play at Loftus. The Sharks currently top the log after winning both opening matches at home, and the Lions are also unbeaten in their first two matches in Johannesburg. The Stormers and the Bulls had mixed results in their away matches. The Lions are third on the log, the Bulls seventh and the Stormers eighth.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-65-cents and the euro at 18-rand-68-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-5-cents and Bitcoin trades at 85-thousand-913-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-166-dollars-87-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 105-dollars-25-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….