News 06:00

BULLETIN 25 September 6 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# President Ramaphosa highlights South Africa’s biggest threats
# The Election Commission says an independent press is the foundation of free and fair elections
# And cricket: Matthew Breetzke leads South Africa to a victory over Australia in the first ODI

# President Cyril Ramaphosa has called on South Africans to guard against forces that seek to undermine national unity. He delivered the keynote address during the National Heritage Day celebrations at Bongolethu Sports Stadium in Oudtshoorn, Western Cape, yesterday. Ramaphosa said in the past, the country’s common enemy was apartheid, and the enemy today is unemployment, gender-based violence, corruption, and alcohol and drug abuse. He emphasised that the values of unity, ubuntu and human dignity that bind the nation together must be strengthened:

# The Electoral Commission says an unhindered, independent press is a foundational pillar of free and fair elections. Article 8 of the Electoral Code of Conduct explicitly sets out the strict relationship between political parties, candidates, and the news media. IEC chairperson Mosotho Moepya has called on political leaders and candidates to refrain from, and robustly protect journalists against, any harassment or harm, whether physically on the ground covering election gatherings or digitally online. He stressed that journalists must never be singled out at political rallies in ways that could provoke harmful conduct. 

# The ANC has accused suspended National Police Commissioner Fanie Masemola of failing his constitutional duty by not acting against suspended Police minister Senzo Mchunu’s directive to interfere in crime intelligence appointments. This is one of the party’s submissions, as the Ad Hoc Committee looking into allegations of criminality within the police service continues to deliberate on its draft report. ANC’s Khuselo Diko says Masemola should have resisted Mchunu’s directive to place a moratorium on crime intelligence appointments:

# The EFF says AfriForum’s relentless political prosecution against Julius Malema has reached an unprecedented low in weaponising the justice system. The National Prosecuting Authority has decided to prosecute Malema for crimen injuria over rape allegations he made about former Bergview College principal Jaco Pieterse. The case involved a seven-year-old girl who was allegedly raped in October 2024. AfriForum opened a criminal case against Malema. The EFF says the pursuit of this by the NPA at the behest of AfriForum is part of a vindictive ideological agenda by right-wingers.

# The Australian government has launched a review after an OpenAI agent hacked into a national healthcare database, gaining unauthorised access to the country’s Medicare statistics database. This is the first known case of artificial intelligence hacking a government network. The incident occurred in June, but OpenAI was only made aware of it in August. Australia’s prime minister Anthony Albanese says the review will examine whether existing legislation and governance are fit for purpose to prepare for and respond to cyber incidents involving AI:

# Cricket: A century from Matthew Breetzke helped the Proteas beat Australia by 67 runs in the first ODI at Kingsmead in Durban, to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. Breetzke became the highest-scoring South African in his first 14 ODIs, scoring 112 from 106 balls, as the home side posted 297 for eight. In reply, left-arm spinners Keshav Maharaj and Bjorn Fortuin shared six wickets between them as Australia were bowled out for 230. The second ODI will be played at the Wanderers on Sunday.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-41-cents and the euro at 18-rand-68-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-68-cents and Bitcoin trades at 84-thousand-135-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-272-dollars-25-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 104-dollars-81-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….