News 15:00

BULLETIN 10 September 3 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Minister Ronald Lamola affirms South Africa’s membership of The Hague Group to back Palestinian rights
# The MK Party pledges a stronger fight against corruption after a court victory
# And athletics: The US Olympic shot put silver medallist Raven Saunders is suspended for 30-months

# International Relations minister Ronald Lamola says South Africa joined The Hague Group to uphold international law and end Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian territories. Addressing Parliament’s Justice portfolio committee on the International Court of Justice, Lamola said the initiative, alongside the Madrid Group, seeks an immediate ceasefire, negotiations, and a just peace. He emphasised South Africa’s commitment to promoting accountability, and the Palestinians’ inalienable rights:

# Cape Town police are investigating seven murder cases which were reported in Wallacedene and Eikendal on Monday and yesterday. The victims were aged between 19 and 25-years-old. Police spokesperson, Wesley Twigg, says in Wallacedene alone, three women and two men were killed in two separate incidents. He says the possibility that these incidents are linked is not ruled out:

# The deputy minister of Police, Cassel Mathale, has handed 78 new vehicles including 14 armoured vehicles to the Hawks. Hawks spokesperson, Katlego Mogale, says this new fleet is aimed at enhancing the unit’s capacity to respond decisively to organised crime and improve operational effectiveness in the fight against serious and priority crimes. She says these vehicles will specifically strengthen operations against serious and violent crimes:

# The MK Party welcomes a ruling by the High Court in Limpopo as a victory for transparency and accountability in local government. The court dismissed an application by Thabazimbi Local Municipality’s municipal manager, who sought to block the party’s councillor, Phetole Bosney Mashao, from carrying out his oversight duties. MK spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndhlela says the judgment protects councillors’ constitutional role to fight corruption, fraud, and misrepresentation in municipalities.

# Athletics: American Olympic shot put silver medallist, Raven Saunders, has accepted a 30-month suspension from the US Anti-Doping Agency for accruing three whereabouts failures within 12 months. The 29-year-old had failures in April, May and December last year. Saunders’s 30-month period of ineligibility began on December 26, 2024, the date of her third failure. The agency says accurate whereabouts information is crucial for effective out-of-competition testing, which helps deter and detect doping.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-56-cents and the euro at 20-rand-55-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-77-cents and Bitcoin trades at 112-thousand-291-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-655-dollars-64-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 66-dollars-89-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….