News 06:00

BULLETIN 3 September 6 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The IEC says it will not accept late submissions of candidate lists
# Donald Trump suggests renaming the Strait of Hormuz as ‘Trump Strait’
# And, Airlink withdraws its application for a flyover before the  third Test

# The Electoral Commission says its reports showed no evidence of a malfunction in its candidate nomination system on the deadline day. This comes as the ANC blamed technical glitches for failing to submit candidate lists for several municipalities before last Friday’s deadline. However, the commission has rejected this, saying its online system was operational. The IEC chief electoral officer, Sy Mamabolo, says there will be no grace period for parties or independent candidates who missed the nomination deadline:

# Standard Bank says China’s zero-tariff policy is creating new opportunities for exporters from South Africa, Kenya, Zimbabwe and Nigeria to enter and expand in the Chinese market. The bank says lower import duties are helping businesses such as South African fruit and wine producers reduce costs and diversify their export markets. It says stronger payment systems using China’s renminbi currency could further boost trade and help African businesses reduce their reliance on traditional export markets.

# The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse says South Africa needs stronger and preventative protection for whistleblowers. The organisation says it does not support the Protected Disclosures Bill in its current form. It also wants police to investigate those who allegedly ordered and financed whistleblower killings, not only the people who carried them out. Through its ‘they have names campaign’, OUTA is highlighting the impact of murdered whistleblowers on their families and calling for an independent authority to provide urgent protection and support.

# The DA says Gauteng could face another learner placement crisis if school applications are not opened earlier. According to the party, the Gauteng Department of Education should open applications for the 2027 school year by April and keep them open until September. The DA’s Sergio Isa Dos Santos says this would give the department enough time to process applications, resolve placement problems and fix technical issues before schools reopen:

# US president Donald Trump has suggested renaming the Strait of Hormuz as ‘Trump Strait’. This comes as Washington and Iran have resumed strikes and remain deadlocked on the Strait. Tehran claims the right to control the strategic waterway; however, the US says it is an international waterway. At least 26 vessels have been attacked while travelling through the Strait of Hormuz since June 17. In a post on Truth Social, Trump claimed the Strait is now under full US control.

# Airlink has withdrawn its application for approval for a third flyover ahead of the third Test between the Springboks and the All Blacks in Johannesburg on Saturday. This comes as the South African Civil Aviation Authority is investigating this past weekend’s Airlink flypast over Cape Town Stadium ahead of the second Test, following criticism of how low the two aircraft flew. The authority says it initiated compliance verifications, engaged Airlink and obtained the flight data recording downloads. It says it has now begun the analysis process.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-4-cents and the euro at 18-rand-60-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-64-cents and Bitcoin trades at 77-thousand-97-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-387-dollars-54-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 97-dollars-34-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….