News 12:00

BULLETIN 29 september 12 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Forum for South Africa is concerned by the possible resignation of the Madlanga commission’s evidence leader
# The DA condemns the unlawful defacement of the Paul Kruger statue in Tshwane
# And South Africa makes history with five International Emmy Awards nominations

# The Forum for South Africa is calling on president Cyril Ramaphosa and the Madlanga commission of inquiry to urgently address the possible departure of evidence leader, advocate Terry Motau. According to reports, Motau has indicated his intention to resign, but refuses to share reasons for his departure. The commission says it won’t discuss staffing matters publicly. FOSA leader Tebogo Mashilompane says Motau’s possible resignation raises questions about the commission’s credibility:

# The DA has condemned the unlawful defacement of the Paul Kruger statue in Church Square, Pretoria. A gun barrel and a boot from two of the Boer warrior statues, which flank the Kruger statue, were broken off last week. The security fence around the statues was also damaged. No arrests have been made. The DA’s Jacqui Uys says this is the latest example of the failure of the City of Tshwane to maintain the rule of law in the inner city:

Moving abroad:

# US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says American citizen Amir Amiry, who was wrongfully detained, has been released from an Afghan prison. He is the fifth American to be freed from detention in Afghanistan this year. Special envoy for hostage response Adam Boehler travelled to Kabul to personally oversee Amiry’s release. Rubio says while this marks an important step forward, more US citizens remain unjustly detained in Afghanistan. He adds they won’t rest until all captive citizens are back home.

# Soccer: Arsenal staged a late comeback to beat Newcastle United 2-1 and close the gap on Premier League leaders Liverpool to two points. Newcastle took the lead in the first half through Nick Woltemade. Substitute Mikel Merino headed Arsenal level with six minutes of regulation time to go, before Gabriel Magalhães’ 96th-minute header sealed the victory. Liverpool were beaten 2-1 by Crystal Palace, their first defeat of the season. Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta says his team made a statement with this win:

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-25-cents and the euro at 20-rand-22-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-19-cents and Bitcoin trades at 112-thousand-224-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-809-dollars-77-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 68-dollars-29-cents a barrel.

# And finally: South Africa has earned five International Emmy Awards nominations, the most ever for an African country in a single year. MultiChoice has secured four nominations for Chasing the Sun 2, the Afrikaans crime drama Koek, hard-hitting documentary School Ties, and Catch Me a Killer, a psychological thriller where Charlotte Hope, playing Micki Pistorius, earned a nomination for best performance by an actress. Play Room Live is nominated in the kids: factual and entertainment category. The winners will be announced in New York on the 24th of November.

Stay tuned for more news………….