News 08:00

BULLETIN 11 September 8 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Fikile Mbalula says the ANC is not asking the IEC for favours
# AfriForum is calling for the dismissal of minister Majodina for swearing at a resident
# And, today is the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attack at the World Trade Centre

# ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula has emphasised that they are not asking the Electoral Commission for favours, but are going to court to establish facts of law. The party has approached the Electoral Court, challenging the IEC on why some of its candidates were not captured by the commission before the deadline. The party claimed that technical difficulties with the system were the cause, which the IEC has denied. Delivering an Anton Lembede Memorial Lecture, Mbalula reiterated that the ANC did not miss the deadline:

# AfriForum is calling on president Cyril Ramaphosa to dismiss minister of Water and Sanitation, Pemmy Majodina. The minister is facing backlash after a video showed her swearing at a disabled resident during a community meeting in Loerie, Kouga Municipality in the Eastern Cape. AfriForum’s Lambert de Klerk says Majodina’s conduct conflicts with the code of ethics for ministers. He says members of Parliament who condemn this conduct must lodge a complaint with the Public Protector in terms of the Executive Members’ Ethics Act:

# The City of Johannesburg has advised residents to regularly monitor their water use and check for leaks to avoid unexpectedly high bills. The city says residents should report leaks outside their properties immediately, while leaks inside properties are generally the responsibility of the property owner. Customers are also urged to check their meter readings and report unusual increases in water consumption.

# Today marks the 25th anniversary of 9/11, when al-Qaeda’s suicide pilots flew two hijacked planes into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Centre in New York on 11 September 2001. Two-thousand-977 victims died that day. Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden was killed by the US military in Pakistan in 2011. The alleged mastermind behind 9/11, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, is still in prison after he was arrested in 2003. Families will gather at the National September 11 Memorial and Museum plaza in Lower Manhattan for a commemoration ceremony today.

# Golf: Chilean Joaquin Niemann leads the Irish Open at Doonbeg after an opening round five-under 65 in rainy, windy conditions. He has a two-shot lead over a group of five players, including Ireland’s Shane Lowry and South African Shaun Norris. Nineteen players did not finish their first round after play was suspended due to darkness. Defending champion Rory McIlroy, who finished his opening round four shots off the lead, says he is pleased with where he is on the leaderboard:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-21-cents and the euro at 18-rand-81-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-88-cents, and Bitcoin trades at 76-thousand-740-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-320-dollars-80-cents a fine ounce, and Brent crude oil is quoted at 109-dollars-97-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….