News 08:00

BULLETIN 5 September 8 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Mashatile says government is committed to expediting land restitution and redistribution
# Limpopo ready for high traffic volumes ahead of religious gatherings
# And twenty-six countries have pledged to provide postwar military support to Ukraine

# Deputy president Paul Mashatile says government is accelerating the Land Reform Programme while supporting agricultural production and investment in the land. The deputy president, who chairs the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Land Reform and Agriculture, conducted an oversight visit to the Western Cape this week. Mashatile says as part of the State Land Transfer Project, the Department of Land Reform and Rural Development is in the process of transferring state-owned farms across the country to lessees who meet specified criteria:

# The African Transformation Movement says urgent investigations into corruption within the judiciary are needed to restore public trust. The party has commended Chief Justice Mandisa Maya for her strong stance on protecting judicial independence and warned against political interference. ATM spokesperson Zama Ntshona raised concern over delays in judgments, such as the Phala Phala case that is still unresolved, calling for stricter accountability measures to ensure justice is delivered fairly and on time:

# The Limpopo Department of Transport says it is fully prepared to manage the anticipated surge in road traffic, as thousands of travellers converge on the province for religious gatherings this weekend. Law enforcement officers are already deployed at strategic locations along major routes and critical points. These include the N1, R101 and the D19. The department’s spokesperson, Dali Tshifhiwa, says motorists are urged to prioritise their passengers’ safety by ensuring their vehicles are roadworthy and that they wear seatbelts:

# French president Emmanuel Macron says 26 countries have pledged to provide Ukraine with security guarantees in the event of a ceasefire. These include deploying troops on land, sea and in the air. However, many European countries, including Germany, Spain and Italy, have refused so far to provide troop commitments. Macron says US contributions to the guarantees would be finalised in the coming days. Russia says the security guarantees demanded by Ukraine pose a threat to the European continent and are absolutely unacceptable.

# Cricket: South Africa defeated England by five runs in the second ODI at Lord’s to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in their three-match series. Player of the match Matthew Breetzke scored 85 off 77-balls to help the Proteas to 330 for eight. Breetzke became the first player in ODI history to pass 50 in each of his first five matches. In reply, Nandre Burger took three wickets as England fell short on 325 for nine. South Africa has clinched the series with a game to spare.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-72-cents and the euro at 20-rand-69-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-84-cents and Bitcoin trades at 111-thousand-130-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-555-dollars-5-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 66-dollars-68-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….