News 13:00

BULLETIN 18 August 1 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# A Western Cape teen is linked to international child exploitation networks has been arrested
# Iran says talks with Oman regarding the Strait of Hormuz are complex but continuing
# And motorsport: Zandvoort hosts its final Dutch Grand Prix this coming weekend

# Western Cape police have arrested a 16-year-old Malmesbury teenager linked to an international child sexual abuse network. This followed a joint intelligence operation involving the US’ Federal Bureau of Investigation, SAPS’ National Serial and Electronic Crime Investigations team, the US embassy, and the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children. Police spokesperson Amanda van Wyk says they confiscated the suspect’s devices containing explicit images and videos:

# A gunman has been killed following a prolonged armed standoff with police on a farm at De Hoop outside Robertson in the Western Cape. Police initially responded to a complaint but came under fire, prompting Tactical Response Team members to intervene. Spokesperson Nonkululeko Phokane says the situation was later escalated to the Special Task Force, which ended the threat. She says one police official was wounded and is currently recovering:

Moving abroad:

# Iran’s Foreign Ministry says talks with Oman regarding the Strait of Hormuz are continuing, but are prolonged due to the complexity of the issues and efforts by some actors to undermine the process. US president Donald Trump has threatened to bomb Oman if it interferes with his country’s efforts in the strait. The ministry’s spokesperson, Esmaeil Baghaeim says a transit route map has been agreed upon between Iran and Oman, but a final agreement has not been finalised.

# Motorsport: Zandvoort will host it’s final Dutch Formula One Grand Prix this weekend after not being able to become financially viable. The event returned to the roster after an absence of 36 years in 2021, but the income didn’t match the popularity and the organisers have decided not to bid for an extension. Last year’s winner, McLaren’s Australian driver Oscar Piastri, is currently seventh in the drivers’ standing with 92 points, 127 points behind the leader, Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli from Italy.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-23-cents and the euro at 18-rand-79-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-97-cents and Bitcoin trades at 64-thousand-97-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-390-dollars-95-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 92-dollars-82-cents a barrel.

# And finally: A University of Cape Town study has found South Africa’s stokvels could become an important platform for improving nutrition and food security in low-income communities. Funded by the International Research Development Centre, the study examined how grocery stokvels influence food purchasing and nutrition-related decisions in two low-income Cape Town communities, Dunoon and Khayelitsha. The university says groups typically consisted of 10 to 30 members, each contributing between 200- and one-thousand-500 per month.

Stay tuned for more news………….