News 12:00

BULLETIN 27 August 12 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Activists and Citizens Forum says Ramaphosa must place the Justice minister on special leave
# Dirco intensifies diplomatic pressure on Equatorial Guinea over two detained South Africans
# And rugby: The All Blacks say they are ready to compete with the Boks’ ferocious pack

# The Activists and Citizens Forum is urging president Cyril Ramaphosa to place minister of Justice, Thembi Simelani, on special leave and institute an investigation into the allegations against her. While she was mayor of Polokwane, the minister was allegedly given more than half a million rand by an organisation that brokered deals with VBS Mutual Bank that led to its collapse. The forum’s Dennis Bloem says these allegations are extremely serious and Ramaphosa must protect the integrity of the Justice Department:

# Gauteng police have not made any arrests after a farmer was stabbed to death at a Groenfontein farm in Tshwane on Sunday. He was declared dead on the scene with five stab wounds. Police spokesperson Johan van Dyk says items reported stolen included a Toyota Hilux bakkie, a cellphone, and a laptop, with a combined value of approximately 300-thousand-rand. The stolen vehicle was later recovered. Van Dyk has urged the community to contact the Bronkhorstspruit police station with any information that might help identify the killer.

# The Department of International Relations and Cooperation says it is deeply concerned about the ongoing detention of South African citizens Peter Huxham and Frik Potgieter in Equatorial Guinea. The two have been imprisoned since February last year, where they had been working for Dutch oil and gas company SBM Offshore. The department says South Africa’s ambassador to Equatorial Guinea, Nolufefe Dwabayo, met with the minister of Foreign Affairs in Malabo. It adds that South Africa is continuing in its pursuit of a solution with the government of Equatorial Guinea.

# Foo Fighters have reacted after Donald Trump used one of their songs without permission during his presidential election campaign, when Robert F Kennedy Junior announced he was supporting Trump in certain states. Foo Fighters say they were not asked permission, and if they were, they would not have granted it. They join a long list of artists who have spoken out against Trump using their music without prior consent, including Celine Dion, The Rolling Stones, Neil Young, Linkin Park, Black Sabbath, Aerosmith, and Rihanna.

# Rugby: All Blacks assistant and forwards coach, Jason Ryan, says they are preparing for a physical onslaught from the Springboks in their Rugby Championship Test at Ellis Park on Saturday. The Boks are currently sweating over the availability of Eben Etzebeth, who has been labelled as doubtful as he has a leg niggle. Ryan says they are confident they will be able to compete with South Africa’s ferocious pack:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-77-cents and the euro at 19-rand-85-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-48-cents and Bitcoin trades at 62-thousand-925-dollars-95-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-510-dollars-73-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 81-dollars-16-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….