News 18:00

BULLETIN 30 August 6 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Bail applications have been postponed for three men accused of the pigsty-murders on a Limpopo farm
# Ramaphosa commits to enhanced crime fight with the Western Cape cooperation agreement
# And, tennis: Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp contemplated retirement before stunning Alcaraz in New York

# Three men accused of murdering two women on a farm in Limpopo will stay behind bars after their bail applications were postponed to 10 September in the Mankweng Magistrate’s Court. Farm owner Zachariah Olivier and his two employees, William Musora and Adriaan de Wet, were arrested after the bodies of Maria Makgato and Lucia Ndlovu were found in a pig-sty. Ndlovu’s husband was also shot, but could escape. The men also face charges of attempted murder, possession of an illegal firearm and ammunition, and defeating the ends of justice.

# President Cyril Ramaphosa says government is committed to fighting crime in the Western Cape with the signing of a new cooperation agreement. The agreement unites national, provincial, and local governments, the South African Police Service, and community organisations to enhance policing through better resource sharing and collaboration. Addressing the community of Belhar in Cape Town, Ramaphosa urged residents to support these efforts to reclaim communities from criminal activities: 

# AfriForum has raised concerns as South Africa’s latest crime statistics show a three-thousand-831 increase in contact crimes in the first quarter of 2024/’25. AfriForum’s Jacques Broodryk has urged Police minister Senzo Mchunu to formalise partnerships with civil safety groups to enhance public safety and effectively address the nation’s crime crisis:

# The South African Zionist Federation says it supports University of Cape Town academics pursuing legal action against the institution’s council for passing anti-Israel resolutions. The federation warns these resolutions could negatively impact the university’s fundraising capabilities, academic freedom, and the environment for Jewish students. The organisation’s Rolene Marks says the resolutions may result in significant financial losses and legal complications due to United States anti-boycott laws:  

# Tennis: US Open lion slayer Botic van de Zandschulp says he contemplated retirement just three months ago. He caused a huge upset when he defeated third-seeded Carlos Alcazaz in New York. The Spaniard was regarded as one of the favourites after winning the French Open and Wimbledon this year. The 28-year-old Dutchman says he was tired of playing with a nagging injury, and demoralized by early defeats because his low ranking of world number 74 handed him difficult matches.

# And, the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-71-cents and the euro at 19-rand-60-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-23-cents and Bitcoin trades at 59-thousand-249-dollars-62-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-516-dollars-15-cent a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 77-dollars-9-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….