News 15:00

BULLETIN 19 September 3 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi claims Mogotsi’s knowledge of minister Senzo Mchunu’s movements proves close ties
# The DA calls for all border safeguarding functions to be transferred to the Border Management Authority
# And Motorsport: Hamilton is optimistic about the elusive first Ferrari podium

# KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi has told the Madlanga commission that businessman Brown Mogotsi’s knowledge of Police minister Senzo Mchunu’s movements shows they have close ties. Mkhwanazi said Mogotsi knew when Mchunu attended key meetings, including sessions at the Presidency. He added this level of awareness could only come from someone with inside access, reinforcing suspicions that Mogotsi was linked to senior government officials:

# The DA is calling for all border safeguarding functions to be transferred to the Border Management Authority, and for the BMA to be adequately funded, to make a clean break with established syndicates once and for all. The DA’s Chris Hattingh says this follows the arrest of five SANDF members and two Zimbabweans for allegedly smuggling illicit cigarettes from Zimbabwe to South Africa:

# Climate change is spurring increasingly erratic and extreme swings between deluge and drought globally, with cascading repercussions for societies. The UN’s World Meteorological Organisation said in a report that the world’s water cycle was becoming ever more unpredictable, with shrinking glaciers, droughts, unbalanced river basins and severe floods wreaking havoc. The agency’s annual report on the State of Global Water Resources shows quite clearly that the water cycle has become increasingly erratic and extreme, with cascading impacts on infrastructure, agriculture, energy, health, and economic activities.

Motorsport: Lewis Hamilton remains optimistic that he can claim a maiden podium with Ferrari this year. Speaking ahead of this weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix, the seven-time champion stressed that a win was unlikely, but that a top-three finish was realistic in the final eight races. Hamilton has never gone through a complete season without a podium finish and has faced mounting criticism of his declining form, including a warning from former F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone to retire before he is forgotten.

# Financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-35-cents and the euro at 20-rand-40-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-42-cents and Bitcoin trades at 116-thousand-443-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-650-dollars-83-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 66-dollars-87-cents a barrel.

# And finally: The University of South Africa will be hosting its sixth Multilingual Spelling Bee competition in Pretoria today. This unique competition challenges learners in Grades 8-to-11 to spell words from different languages, thereby reflecting the rich linguistic tapestry of the country. The competition will consist of four rounds, which are designed to progressively challenge and assess participants’ language skills. This year’s winner will walk away with five-thousand-rand and a laptop, the second runner-up will win three-thousand-500-rand and a tablet, while the third prize is two-thousand-500-rand and a tablet.

Stay tuned for more news………….