News 07:00

BULLETIN 16 September 7 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# A suspect is arrested, and a person of interest is pursued in connection with the Ekurhuleni murders
# The government secures a 16-billion-rand loan to improve municipal services
# And athletics: Kenya will host World Championships for the first time in Africa in 2029

# Acting National Police Commissioner Puleng Dimpane says a suspect has been arrested in connection with one of the murders committed in Kempton Park, Ekurhuleni, in July, while police are pursuing another person of interest. Eight women’s bodies have been discovered in the metro over the past two months. Dimpane says there are unknown victims, and they are calling upon families, in particular around the Kempton Park area, to come forward if they know of any family member who disappeared:

Meanwhile, Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi says he is confident that all those responsible for the murders of the eight women will be brought to justice. A high-level, multidisciplinary police team is investigating the murders, as a 400-thousand-rand reward has been offered for information that could lead to a breakthrough in the investigation. Lesufi says Kempton Park and surrounding areas are going on lockdown as police expand visibility:

# Government has signed a 16.2-billion-rand loan agreement with the New Development Bank to upgrade infrastructure for the Metropolitan Municipal Services. This is part of the Metro Trading Services Reform Programme, aimed at improving the governance, financial sustainability and operational performance of municipal trading services in metropolitan municipalities, particularly in water and sanitation, electricity and energy, and solid waste management. National Treasury says this is a performance-based loan with financing linked to institutional strengthening and the achievement of independently verified, measurable performance targets approved by municipalities.

# Trade union Solidarity has filed a complaint with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in Washington, DC, against Amazon Web Services over a business development programme that requires applicants to be 100-percent black-owned. Solidarity’s Dirk Hermann says the requirement unfairly excludes businesses with any white ownership and goes beyond what South African law requires. Hermann is seeking mediation and wants Amazon to remove the race-based eligibility requirement.

# The United Nations says the deadly Ebola virus outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo continues to spread across the country despite some success in containing it. Seven-thousand-200 Ebola cases have been recorded, with nearly three-thousand-500 deaths. The outbreak is the second most lethal on record, behind one in West Africa that lasted from 2014 to 2016. UN Special Ebola Coordinator Julien Harneis stresses that the epidemic remains massive and would take months to bring under control:

# Athletics: The World Championships will head to Africa for the first time in 2029, when it will be hosted by the Kenyan capital of Nairobi. World Athletics also awarded the 2031 edition to Munich in Germany. Nairobi has hosted the World Under-18 Championships in 2017 and the Under-20 Championship four years later, but lost the bid to Tokyo in Japan for last year’s senior event. 2029’s championships will take place at the Kasarani Stadium, which is already being renovated for next year’s Africa Cup of Nations soccer tournament.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-26-cents and the euro at 18-rand-76-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-90-cents and Bitcoin trades at 75-thousand-469-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-286-dollars-22-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 109-dollars-80-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….