News 12:00

BULLETIN 3 September 12 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Saftu joins Numsa in the fight against retrenchments at Ford
# Tennis: Novak Djokovic sets up a US Open semifinal showdown with Carlos Alcaraz
# And a French winemaker is sent to jail for making and selling fake champagne

# Union federation Saftu says the motor industry faces a jobs bloodbath following Ford’s plan to cut jobs at its plants in Gauteng and the Eastern Cape. The federation has joined metalworkers’ union Numsa in condemning the retrenchments, warning they come on top of cuts at Mercedes-Benz and ArcelorMittal South Africa, which threaten the country’s industrial base. Saftu’s Asive Dyani calls for an emergency national summit to stop retrenchments, review government subsidies to auto companies, and protect workers’ jobs:

# The Soil of Africa Civic Movement is calling on Gauteng Education MEC, Matome Chiloane, to urgently address allegations of sexual assault at Tiyelelani Secondary School in Soshanguve, Tshwane. An educator allegedly sexually assaulted a learner, while a bus driver has been accused of having an inappropriate relationship with a school girl. Soil of Africa chairperson, Bongani Ramontja, says no child should attend school in fear:

# The Freedom Front Plus is calling on the DA to take immediate action against Stellenbosch Municipality’s Human Resources manager, Alexander Kannemeyer. This follows a video circulating on social media in which Kannemeyer allegedly suggests making life difficult for white employees until they resign. The FF Plus’ Gert van Niekerk says Kannemeyer further asserted that the practice of appointing skilled and qualified individuals typically results in white candidates, particularly white men, being prioritised:

# Tennis: Thirty-eight-year-old Novak Djokovic has set up a blockbuster US Open semifinal with Carlos Alcaraz. The Serb defeated American Taylor Fritz in five sets as he continues his pursuit of a record 25th Grand Slam singles title. Spaniard Alcaraz eased past Czech Jiri Lehecka in three sets. In the women’s draw, defending champion Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus received a walkover into the semifinals when her opponent, Czech player Marketa Vondrousova, withdrew with a knee injury. Sabalenka will face American Jessica Pegula in a repeat of last year’s final.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-67-cents and the euro at 20-rand-59-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-65-cents and Bitcoin trades at 111-thousand-156-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-539-dollars-56-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 68-dollars-82-cents a barrel.

# And finally: A French winemaker who made and sold fake champagne has been sent to jail. Didier Chopin sold hundreds of thousands of bottles of fake champagne he made with wines from Spain and southern France, to which he added aromas and gas to make them sparkling. A court in the biggest city in the Champagne region, Reims, sentenced him to 18 months behind bars, with an additional 30 months suspended. Chopin’s wife was handed a two-year suspended sentence on the same charges.

Stay tuned for more news………….