News 06:00

BULLETIN22 September 6 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Leo Brent Bozell won’t disclose the names of the South Africans affected by the visa restrictions
# The third suspect arrested in connection with the Dawn Park murder is released
# And, the major US TV networks stand with CNN by suspending their White House coverage

# United States Ambassador to South Africa Leo Brent Bozell says the State Department will not disclose the names of South Africans who will be affected by the recently announced visa restrictions. The restrictions announced last week target individuals the US accuses of involvement in race‑based discrimination. They stem from policies such as Black Economic Empowerment and land expropriation without compensation. Bozell told the SABC that in January last year, the Trump administration already put forward an executive order, laying out what the issues were:

# The Southern African Agri Initiative calls for a thorough investigation into Onderstepoort Biological Products over alleged manipulation of foot-and-mouth vaccine pricing and its production capacity. The organisation also wants answers on the 500-million-rand that reportedly disappeared at the company. This follows the precautionary suspension of the state vaccine maker’s acting chief executive, Jacob Modumo. However, Modumo’s suspension is not a finding of wrongdoing. Saai’s Theo de Jager says the company has failed farmers and should be privatised.

# Deputy National Police Commissioner Tebello Mosikili has confirmed that the man arrested alongside two women in connection with the murder of Jabulile Ntimba has been released and not charged. Her body was found in Villa Liza near Dawn Park last week, becoming the ninth woman found dead in Ekurhuleni since July this year. Two women linked to her murder appeared briefly in the Boksburg Magistrate’s Court yesterday. Mosikili says police don’t have sufficient evidence to place the matter of the third suspect before court:

# Major US television networks NBC, ABC, CBS, and Fox News are standing with CNN by pulling their White House pool coverage and will not cover president Donald Trump’s events designated for pool coverage. This comes after Trump barred CNN, Politico, and MS NOW from the White House, accusing the organisations of writing “fiction or lies” about his administration. The media outlets have sued the administration. In a joint statement, the TV networks say no administration should restrict a news organisation because it objects to its reporting.

# Rugby: All team announcements in the United Rugby Championship will take place at three o’clock, South African time, on the Thursday of a match week for the duration of the season. During previous seasons, the announcements were normally made 24 hours before kick-off. The organisers say the trial follows media and broadcast partners’ feedback to allow them earlier access to team news, while the teams themselves are willing to help create a longer, more consistent build-up to matches. The season kicks off on Friday night.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-22-cents and the euro at 18-rand-60-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-70-cents and Bitcoin trades at 86-thousand-389-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-354-dollars-77-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 100-dollars-54-cents a barrel.

# And finally: New research suggests people are speaking about 28-percent fewer words each day than they did in 2005. Researchers analysed recordings from more than two-thousand people in 22 studies conducted between 2005 and 2019, finding that daily speech declined by about 338 words a year. The drop was even greater among people under 25. Psychologists say smartphones, texting, online ordering and less face-to-face interaction may be contributing, but the research cannot identify a single cause. The researchers say those missing conversations could have social and cognitive consequences.

Stay tuned for more news………….