News 17:00

BULLETIN 29 August 5 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Action Society says South Africa’s murder rate is nearly four times higher than global terror deaths
# Britain blocks the Israeli government from a major London arms expo
# And rugby: Assistant coach Tony Brown regards the Eden Park Test as the Boks’ biggest since the World Cup

# Action Society says South Africa’s murder rate is now higher than deaths from terrorism worldwide. According to the civil rights group, last year, over 26-thousand people were murdered, nearly four times more than the global terrorism toll. Action Society’s Juanita du Preez warns that violent crime has surged over the past decade, claiming more than 250-thousand lives. Du Preez calls on all South Africans to demand change through their decade of decline campaign:

# The Western Cape High Court has authorised the City of Cape Town and national departments to serve eviction notices to foreign nationals residing in tents on state-owned land. Approximately 160 people remain at Wingfield in Maitland, and around 200 at Paint City in Bellville. The notices will be served in various translated languages. The groups were relocated during the Covid-19 lockdown after being evicted from Greenmarket Square and the Central Methodist Church. Many have declined repatriation or local reintegration, seeking resettlement in other countries instead.

# The British government has barred Israeli officials from attending a major arms fair in London next month. A government spokesperson told CNN the Israeli government’s decision to further escalate its military operation in Gaza is wrong and as a result no Israeli delegation will be invited to attend the fair. Israel has previously commanded a large presence at the Defence and Security Equipment International exhibition. Israel’s Defence Ministry says the restrictions amount to a deliberate and regrettable act of discrimination against the country’s representatives.

# Rugby: Springbok assistant coach Tony Brown regards next Saturday’s Rugby Championship Test against the All Blacks in Auckland as South Africa’s biggest since winning the World Cup in 2023. New Zealand hasn’t lost at Eden Park since 1994, while the Boks haven’t win there since 1937. South Africa beat the Kiwi’s in their last four meetings, including the World Cup final and twice last year. Brown says the Boks are excited while the All Blacks are desperate for victory, and he expects a huge battle.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-70-cents and the euro at 20-rand-65-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-82-cents and Bitcoin trades at 110-thousand-528-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-418-dollars-6-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 67-dollars-67-cents a barrel.

# And finally: The Garden Route District Municipality in the Southern Cape has launched a first-of-its-kind platform to combat primarily invasive alien plants. The platform has set a bold interim vision to reduce invasive alien plants coverage across the Garden Route by 30-percent by 2030. This will support biodiversity conservation, water security, and wildfire risk reduction. Mayor Andrew Stroebel says invasive alien plants have re-emerged more aggressively, worsening the wildfire risk:

Stay tuned for more news………….