News 09:00

BULLETIN 28 August 9 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Deputy minister Andries Nel warns against a Russian job scam
# North Korea’s Kim Jong Un will visit China for Victory Day
# And rugby: The All Blacks coach releases 16 players to their provincial teams

# Deputy minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, Andries Nel, has called for a united approach to fight human trafficking and the exploitation of young women. This follows the circulation of social media videos, through prominent South African influencers, of controversial and possibly illegal job opportunities in Russia. The advert targeted young women between the ages of 18 and 22. Nel says human trafficking is a scourge that must be confronted with unity, vigilance, and unshakable resolve:

# The ANC says it welcomes the clarification by the party’s Youth League and its support for the national dialogue. This comes after the Youth League criticised the national convention for the dialogue, saying it lacked youth involvement and was a tea party for friends. The government describes the dialogue as a people-led, society-wide process. The ANC says the role of the youth is to be robust and fearless in their engagement, but the Youth League remains politically guided by the party in advancing the collective interests of young people.

# Western Cape premier, Alan Winde, says there are just under 13-thousand active police members in the province, which is not sufficient given the rapid population growth. He says the ongoing gang violence, compounded by the recent spate of mini-bus taxi-related shootings, necessitates stronger policing. Winde says there should be in excess of 25-thousand police members deployed in the province:

# North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will attend a military parade in Beijing, China, next Wednesday. This will be his first trip to China since 2019. The so-called “Victory Day” parade is part of China’s commemorations to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War Two, following Japan’s formal surrender. A total of 26 foreign heads of state, including Russian president Vladimir Putin and Pakistan’s prime minister Shehbaz Sharif, are expected to attend the event.

# Rugby: All Blacks head coach Scott Robertson has released 16 players back to their provincial squads before the two Rugby Championship home Tests against the Springboks. None of them played for New Zealand in last weekend’s loss to the Pumas. Robertson received the welcome news that key player Anton Lienert-Brown will return to action after missing the second Test against Argentina with a concussion. South Africa and New Zealand will face off in Auckland next Saturday and again in Wellington a week later.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-66-cents and the euro at 20-rand-56-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-85-cents and Bitcoin trades at 112-thousand-205-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-391-dollars-22-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 66-dollars-87-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….