News 18:00

BULLETIN 23 September 6 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Fannie Masemola sees the political killings task team’s disbandment as an attempt to halt criminal cartel investigations
# Minister Pieter Groenewald highlights the need to balance victims’ rights with inmates’ rehabilitation
# And Rugby: Rassie Erasmus opts for consistency with Etzebeth and Willemse in the starting-15

# National police commissioner Fannie Masemola says the disbandment of the political killings task team was an attempt to stop investigations into criminal cartels. Masemola told the Madlanga commission in Pretoria that Police minister Senzo Mchunu’s decision was irrational and politically motivated. He linked it to last year’s raid on businessman Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala’s home and the uncovering of corruption in a 360-million-rand health contract his company had with the police:

# Correctional Services minister Pieter Groenewald has emphasised the need to balance victims’ rights with inmates’ rehabilitation and reintegration. This comes as delegates at the National Parole Summit in Pretoria are interrogating current parole legislation. This includes outdated manual data systems and backlogs as major obstacles. Groenewald emphasised the importance of stakeholders across the justice system reviewing the Correctional Services and Criminal Procedure Acts amid concerns over high reoffending rates:

# Eastern Cape police have taken five suspects in for questioning after an 18-year-old Grade 12 learner from Humansdorp High School was fatally stabbed this morning. Police spokesperson Majola Nkohli says a violent altercation among learners broke out leaving one learner with fatal stab wounds. The victim was declared dead at the scene. Nkohli confirmed that investigations are ongoing as police work to establish the circumstances surrounding the incident.

# The CEO of a South Korean lithium battery maker was sentenced to 15 years in prison over a factory fire that killed nearly two dozen workers last year. The Suwon District Court handed down the lengthy term to Aricell CEO Park Soon-kwan, saying the company’s practices had prioritised profit over worker safety. The June 2024 fire at the lithium battery plant killed 23 people, most of whom were Chinese nationals, in one of South Korea’s worst industrial disasters in years.

# Rugby: Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus opted for consistency in selection for their Rugby Championship match against Argentina at Kings Park in Durban on Saturday. In the starting team Eben Etzebeth and Damian Willemse take over from the injured Lood de Jager and Aphelele Fassi. Damian de Allende returns at inside centre alongside Canan Moodie in an exciting midfield combination. Prop Boan Venter is included on the bench, Jan-Hendrik Wessels will be the replacement hooker, while scrumhalf Morné van den Berg takes over from Grant Williams, who is nursing a niggle.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-25-cents and the euro at 20-rand-36-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-32-cents and Bitcoin trades at 112-thousand-895-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-774-dollars-11-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 67-dollars-19-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….