News 09:00

BULLETIN 3 September 9 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The EFF condemns minister Steenhuisen’s appointment of unqualified individuals
# The mayor of Cape Town wants justice for 7-year-old Emaan Solomons
# And Ukraine criticises Mongolia for not arresting Putin

# The EFF says it condemns the blatant display of white privilege by Agriculture minister John Steenhuisen in his appointment of unqualified individuals to key positions within his ministry. The party’s spokesperson, Leigh-Ann Mathys, says the minister wants to appoint a spokesperson and two other high-profile ministerial positions to individuals whose highest qualification is a mere matric certificate. She says Steenhuisen’s request to deviate from the minimum requirements for his appointments is a blatant abuse of power:

# Cape Town mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis says he wants the harshest possible sentence to be meted out to Emaan Solomons’ killers. The seven-year-old girl was gunned down in a gang crossfire while playing in Ocean View in February 2020. Yesterday the mayor attended the first day of a trial against two gangsters accused of the girl’s murder. Hill-Lewis says Emaan’s was not a senseless killing, but a calculated one:

# Ukraine says Mongolia’s failure to arrest Russia’s president Vladimir Putin on an International Criminal Court warrant, has dealt a heavy blow to the international criminal law system. Putin arrived in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia’s capital yesterday. He is wanted by the Hague-based court for the alleged illegal deportation of Ukrainian children since his troops invaded the country in 2022. Mongolia is a member of the ICC and is required to arrest Putin. Ukraine’s foreign ministry says Mongolia has allowed an accused criminal to evade justice, thereby sharing responsibility for the war crimes.

# Tennis: World number one Jannik Sinner of Italy has set up a US Open quarterfinal clash with Russian Daniil Medvedev. Sinner defeated American Tommy Paul, 7-6, 7-6, 6-1, while Medvedev, the only former champion left in the draw, cruised past Nuno Borges of Portugal, 6-0, 6-1, 6-3. Australia’s Alex de Minaur and Britain’s Jack Draper are also through to the quarterfinals. In the women’s draw, world number one Iga Swiatek of Poland defeated Russia’s Liudmila Samsonova, 6-4, 6-1, to set up a quarterfinal clash with American sixth seed Jessica Pegula.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-87-cents and the euro at 19-rand-77-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-48-cents and Bitcoin trades at 59-thousand-137-dollars-77-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-494-dollars-92-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 77-dollars-23-cents a barrel.

# And finally, Eskom has expressed sadness at the passing of former board member and MTN CEO Sifiso Dabengwa. He passed away after succumbing to cancer on Sunday. He served as a non-executive director on the power utility’s board of directors. Eskom’s spokesperson, Daphne Mokwena, says his appointment by the Presidency in January 2018, Dabengwa was a valued member of the 13-member board until his resignation in July 2020:

Stay tuned for more news………….