News 16:00

BULLETIN 30 September 4 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Tshuma’s plea-and-sentence negotiations stall
# South Africa and France strengthen their economic partnership
# And a Flydubai flight is diverted to Saudi Arabia after the pilots get into a fight

# The Johannesburg Magistrates’ Court has postponed Zimbabwean-British fugitive Ndodana Tshuma’s plea and sentencing to 21 October. He is charged with unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition, and illegal entry into South Africa. The state and defence require more time to negotiate, while magistrate Sindisiwe Malindi says discrepancies in the guilty plea and prosecution documents must be corrected. Separately, Tshuma’s extradition proceedings, scheduled to begin today, will commence tomorrow. He is wanted in the UK over the murders of his wife and two daughters.

# South Africa and France are strengthening economic cooperation, focusing on infrastructure, industrialisation and inclusive growth. Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation minister Maropene Ramokgopa says France is now South Africa’s number-one foreign direct investor. More than 480 French companies operate locally, employing over 65-thousand people. Thirty French companies announced 20.7-billion-rand in investment commitments at this year’s South African investment conference. Ramokgopa says priorities include jobs, poverty reduction and stronger state capacity:

# COSATU has condemned what it calls a media event by the United States embassy aimed at ridiculing and undermining South Africa’s constitutional sovereignty. The federation’s spokesperson, Matthew Parks, says freedom of speech and media are constitutionally protected in South Africa, but should not be abused by diplomatic missions to spread what it describes as false information. He says diplomatic missions should respect international norms and South Africa’s sovereignty:

# Soccer: Bafana Bafana coach Pitso Mosimane says they will not take Eritrea lightly in their second Africa Cup of Nations qualifier in Cairo, Egypt, this evening. South Africa kicked off their campaign by beating Guinea 2-1 this past weekend, while Eritrea snatched a point away from home after a 1-all draw with Kenya in the other Group D match. Mosimane has identified Egyptian-based Eritrean striker Ali Suleiman as the player to watch, saying he is fast, deadly on set pieces and shoots from any angle.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-37-cents and the euro at 18-rand-59-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-75-cents and Bitcoin trades at 83-thousand-870-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-189-dollars-28-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 101-dollars-42-cents a barrel.

# And finally: A Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv has been diverted to Saudi Arabia after the pilots apparently got into a physical fight. The flight transmitted emergency signals, including one indicating possible unlawful interference, before landing safely in Tabuk. The plane also dropped nearly four-thousand-200 metres in about 30 seconds. All passengers and crew are reported to be safe and accounted for. Israeli officials say the incident was not believed to be a hijacking.

Stay tuned for more news………….