News 11:00

BULLETIN 17 September 11 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The DA says the unbundling of Eskom is vital to save the mining sector
# Donald Trump is in the UK for his second state visit
# And cricket: Afghanistan’s exiled women’s team will play in India during the World Cup

# The DA says Eskom must be unbundled urgently to save the mining sector from collapse. The party warns that soaring electricity prices, which have risen by more than 800-percent since 2007, are crippling mining and shutting down ferrochrome smelters, with Glencore closing all 22 of its furnaces. The DA’s Kevin Mileham says South Africa, despite holding the world’s largest chrome reserves, has lost ground to China due to power prices that are almost 50-percent higher:

# Non-governmental organisation Whistleblower House says the Madlanga commission of inquiry must ensure the protection of whistleblowers. The commission, tasked with investigating allegations of criminality, political interference, and corruption in the justice system, gets underway today. KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi will be the first witness to testify. Whistleblower House’s Ben Theron told eNCA by making whistleblowing a less risky endeavour, impunity is diminished, and accountability becomes an inherent outcome:

# Western Cape MEC for Agriculture, Economic Development and Tourism, Ivan Meyer, says the agricultural sector’s resilience and growth are a testament to the hard work of farmers, agri-workers, and agri-processors. The sector delivered a standout performance in the second quarter, recording a 14-percent year-on-year increase. This is according to the Agricultural Economic Quarterly Report. Meyer says the report also shows that agriculture and agri-processing supported 302-thousand-604 jobs in the province:

Moving abroad:

# US president Donald Trump is in the UK for his second state visit, where he is set to meet King Charles and prime minister Keir Starmer. The visit comes amid criticism in the UK of Trump’s policies and rhetoric, with the Stop Trump Coalition protesting yesterday. Starmer will be hoping to complete a deal to exclude UK steel and aluminium from US tariffs. Trump will spend today with the royal family at Windsor Castle. Tomorrow he will hold talks with Starmer at the prime minister’s country retreat, Chequers.

# Cricket: Afghanistan’s exiled women’s players will tour India during the one-day World Cup, where they will play against domestic teams. Most of the cricketers fled to Australia when the Taliban regime returned in 2021 and banned women and girls from participating in sports, education and employment. The team will also be invited to watch some of the World Cup matches. Afghanistan’s women played in a historic exhibition match against a Cricket Without Borders-eleven in Melbourne in January.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-35-cents and the euro at 20-rand-56-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-66-cents and Bitcoin trades at 117-thousand-173-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-673-dollars-52-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 67-dollars-93-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….