News 16:00

BULLETIN 1 September 4 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# ArcelorMittal South Africa confirms the closure of its long steel operations by the end of the month
# AfriForum’s audit shows only 22-percent of South African landfills meet the basic standards
# And rugby: The Bok Women crack the world top ten for the first time

# South Africa’s steel giant ArcelorMittal is set to complete the wind-down of its long steel business by the end of this month. The closure will affect three-thousand-500 workers in Newcastle in KwaZulu-Natal, Vereeniging in Gauteng, and the rail and structural unit. Efforts to save the business, including government support, failed. CEO Kobus Verster blames ongoing losses, high electricity and rail costs and cheap imports. The company lost over a billion-rand in the first half of this year and plans to sell non-core assets to focus on its main steel business.

# AfriForum says only one in five landfill sites in South Africa meets basic safety and environmental standards. The organisation’s new audit shows that of the 169 sites checked, 131 failed to protect communities and the environment. Gauteng and the Western Cape performed best, while the Northern Cape scored lowest at just 13-percent. AfriForum’s Marais de Vaal says common problems include fires, unsafe recycling, and poor waste management:

# The National Prosecuting Authority has welcomed the life sentence handed to 25-year-old Mozambican national, Phethe Simiao, for the 2024 rape and murder of six-year-old Amantle Samane in Johannesburg. Her body was found in his shack in Orlando East. NPA spokesperson Phindi Mjonondwane says Simiao showed no remorse, only self-pity. She praised prosecutors’ resilience in confronting violent crimes, especially those targeting vulnerable groups, and called for continued strength in their pursuit of justice:

# The Media 20 Summit in Johannesburg is expected to finalise the M20 Declaration urging G20 leaders to act against the global information integrity crisis. The draft calls for urgent safeguard to media freedom, strengthen journalism ethics, and combat disinformation, and deepfakes. It warns that damaged information integrity threatens democracy, trust, and the digital economy. The declaration will be presented to the G20 for endorsement. The summit is an independent joint programme of Media Monitoring Africa and the South African National Editors’ Forum.

# Rugby: The Springbok Women’s heroics at the World Cup in England have propelled them to the top-ten of the world rankings for the very first time. South Africa claimed its second victory of the tournament when they edged out Italy 29-24 in York yesterday to reach the quarterfinals for the first time ever. The Boks now top Pool D with ten points after two bonus point victories. They next play second-placed France, who had also advanced to the knock-outs already, while Italy and Brazil have been eliminated.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-57-cents and the euro at 20-rand-59-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-77-cents and Bitcoin trades at 108-thousand-671-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-470-dollars-70-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 68-dollars-7-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….