News 13:00

NEWSFLASH NEWS AGENCY 16 November 1 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Saftu asks the Competition Commission to penalise banks that were part of the currency manipulation
# Police operations against illegal mining in Gauteng are very successful 
# And Cricket: The Proteas bat first in the World Cup semifinal against Australia

# Union federation Saftu is calling on the Competition Commission to penalise all 28 banks that were part of currency manipulation of the South African rand and the US dollar, including imposing heavy fines. It says such behaviour, if repeated, has the potential to sabotage the country’s balance of payment and growth prospects. Saftu’s spokesperson, Trevor Shaku, says besides, commercial banks are nothing but chartered banks of the Central Bank, and must be shown that whatever illusions they harbour, they are not more powerful than the state:

Play sound: ENG TrevorOn28Banks

# At least 36 suspects have been arrested in connection with alleged possession of suspected stolen property, illegal mining and contravention of the Immigration Act in Kagiso in the West Rand District. This follows a large-scale operation by the police. Tools of trade for illegal mining such as generators, pendukas, gas bottles, steel brackets and gold bearing material, were also seized during the operation. The suspects are expected to appear in court soon.

# Anti-crime activist Yusuf Abramjee is urging South Africans to be more vigilant as criminal activities tend to increase during the festive season. He says criminal attacks, including burglaries, robberies, hijackings, ATM bombings and cash-in-transit heists, occur approximately every 50 seconds. Abramjee warns these criminal activities tend to surge across the country during the holiday season, and the crime rate has been consistently increasing year after year:

Play sound: ENG-AbramjeeOnFestiveCrime

# Tshwane mayor Cilliers Brink announced the roll-out of the climate budget initiative in partnership with C40 Cities at the inaugural C40 Cities Political Leadership Masterclass on Climate Change Governance. He says they have been steadily working at the inclusion of climate considerations into the capital planning system. Brink says they will be linking the city’s emissions-reduction targets to actual projects, and ensuring that these are prioritised and form part of what will be known as the Tshwane Climate Budget.

# Cricket: Proteas captain Temba Bavuma won the toss and unsurprisingly chose to bat first in the World Cup semifinal against Australia at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. South Africa was much more successful setting a target than chasing it so far in the tournament. Marco Jansen is back in the team, which includes two spinners – Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi. Today’s winner will face India in Sunday’s final in Ahmedabad after the hosts beat 2019 finalist New Zealand by 70 runs in yesterday’s first semifinal in Mumbai.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-15-cents and the euro at 19-rand-71-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-52-cents and Bitcoin trades at 37-thousand-438-dollars-8-cents. Gold sells at one-thousand-966-dollars-72-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 80-dollars-85-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….