News 08:00

BULLETIN 27 August 8 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The EFF is calling on the government to strengthen the police
# Trump wants the death penalty for all murder cases in Washington
# And tennis: Sinner and Swiatek are off to a winning start at the US Open

# The EFF says Statistics South Africa’s latest Governance, Public Safety and Justice survey confirms that citizens remain under the siege of crime, while the government offers little relief. The survey indicates that an estimated 1.5-million incidents of housebreaking occurred during the 2024/2025 financial year. A total of 811-thousand consumer fraud incidents were recorded, affecting 566-thousand victims. The EFF says the government must restore and strengthen its policing capacity, fully fund investigative capabilities to increase conviction rates, and root out corruption in the policing and justice systems.

# ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba says there is no scientific evidence that the container, which plunged into a collapsed mine shaft with three Lily Mine workers inside, cannot be retrieved. Yvonne Mnisi, Pretty Nkambule, and Solomon Nyerende were trapped in a container that plunged into a sinkhole at the Lily Mine in Barberton, Mpumalanga, in 2016. Mashaba says they will continue to put pressure on the government until the remains of the three workers are retrieved:

# The Congress of South African Trade Unions has applauded Finance minister Enoch Godongwana for taking over the troubled Government Pensions Administration Agency. This follows reports the agency signed a nearly one-billion-rand lease for a building it cannot access. Godongwana has seconded Treasury’s Stadi Mngomezulu as acting CEO while the agency’s head, Kedibone Madiehe, is investigated. COSATU urges prosecution of wrongdoers and recovery of millions already paid, to safeguard the retirement savings of 1.7-million workers and pensioners.

# US president Donald Trump says his administration will seek the death penalty in murder cases in Washington, DC. Most murders in Washington are prosecuted under local law, although prosecutors can seek the death penalty for crimes that fall under federal law. Trump reinstated the federal death penalty through an executive order on the first day of his administration in January. He says the death penalty would be a preventative measure:

# Tennis: World number one Jannik Sinner began his bid for back-to-back US Open titles with a 6-1, 6-1, 6-2 victory against Czech Vit Kopriva. The Italian will face Australian Alexei Popyrin next, after he defeated Emil Ruusuvuori of Finland in straight sets. Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik knocked out 2014 champion Croatia’s Marin Cilic. In the women’s draw, Poland’s Iga Swiatek eased past Colombia’s Emiliana Arango, 6-1, 6-2, while Japan’s Naomi Osaka defeated Belgian Greet Minnen, 6-3, 6-4, to seal a place in the second round.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-63-cents and the euro at 20-rand-50-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-72-cents and Bitcoin trades at 111-thousand-73-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-381-dollars-87-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 66-dollars-68-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….