News 09:00

BULLETIN 5 September 9 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# President Ramaphosa says the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation is important
# The TLU SA conference focused on rural safety and private property rights
# And the City of Tshwane is probing a sudden drop in reservoir levels

# President Cyril Ramaphosa says he believes that the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation can play an important role as Africa works to build an integrated network of linkages between countries. He delivered an address at the fourth Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Summit in Beijing. Ramaphosa says he welcomes the proposal by president Xi Jinping to elevate China’s bilateral relations with African countries, having diplomatic ties with China to the level of strategic relations. He adds that the forum is valuable to support the implementation of the African Union’s Agenda 2063.

# Agricultural union TLU SA’s annual conference highlighted the resilience and innovation of the country’s agricultural sector amidst increasing challenges. These include economic uncertainty, the threat to private property rights, and the decline in rural safety. TLU SA’s general manager, Bennie van Zyl, says the conference also focused on how farmers can maximise their profitability while still prioritising sustainability:

# Parliament’s portfolio committee on Justice and Constitutional Development has approved the draft notice regarding the remuneration for judges, magistrates, and other public office bearers. President Cyril Ramaphosa decided on a three-percent increase for the 2023/2024 financial year. He further determined an increase of 2.5-percent for the 2024/2025 financial year and a 4.7-percent increase for magistrates. The committee says South Africa needs to move towards a single judiciary, which will assist with challenges regarding a difference in the remuneration between the salaries of magistrates and judges.

# The City of Tshwane says it is investigating the cause of a sudden drop in the levels of the Laudium and Atteridgeville reservoirs, which started this past weekend. Many residents have been without water. Tshwane’s spokesperson, Lindela Mashigo, says they have had to restrict water supply to certain areas to allow the Laudium and Atteridgeville systems to recover. He adds that so far, the team has not been able to identify any visible leaks on both systems:

# Tennis: World number one Jannik Sinner is through to his first US Open semifinal, defeating Russia’s Daniil Medvedev, 6-2, 1-6, 6-1, 6-4. The Italian will face Britain’s Jack Draper, who beat Australia’s Alex de Minaur to reach his first Grand Slam semifinal. In the women’s draw, American Jessica Pegula stunned world number one Iga Swiatek of Poland, 6-2, 6-4, to make her first major semifinal. Pegula, who will face Czech’s Karolina Muchova next, says she played well:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-87-cents and the euro at 19-rand-80-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-50-cents and Bitcoin trades at 57-thousand-158-dollars-74-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-494-dollars-53-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 72-dollars-87-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….