News 17:00

BULLETIN 9 September 5 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The South African Police Service defends the diversity of the latest police recruitment
# Minister McKenzie demands a demographic breakdown of these new recruits
# And: King Harald is laid to rest as Norway bids farewell

# The South African Police Service says its latest recruitment intake reflects the racial composition of applicants, rather than the exclusion of any group. SAPS received nearly 1.05-million applications, with African majority applicants. The Service says candidates underwent driver’s licence, psychometric, fitness, medical and integrity checks. SAPS spokesperson Athlenda Mathe is urging White, Indian and Coloured communities to apply in future recruitment drives:

Meanwhile, the Patriotic Alliance leader Gayton McKenzie is calling on the Police Service to release a full demographic breakdown of this intake. McKenzie wants figures by race, province and gender, as well as the selection criteria. His comments follow Sunday’s National Commemoration Day at the Union Buildings, where president Cyril Ramaphosa honoured 12 officers killed in the line of duty. Ramaphosa says recruitment and promotions must be based on merit, competence and integrity, alongside proper training and equipment.

# Union federation COSATU is demanding urgent action by government and the private sector following the latest gross domestic product growth report. South Africa’s GDP declined 0.2-percent in the second quarter of this year, after recording 0.4-percent growth in the first quarter. The decline comes largely against the backdrop of the outbreak of war in the Middle East. COSATU’s Matthew Parks says bold interventions are essential if the country is to reach the three-percent plus growth needed to tackle unemployment, poverty and inequality:

# Norway has buried King Harald the Fifth after 13 days of national mourning, with large crowds lining the streets of Oslo. A procession led from the royal palace to Oslo Cathedral, where the ceremony was attended by members of royal families and world leaders, including Britain’s Prince William and Princess Anne. Harald, who died aged 89 after more than three decades on the throne, was remembered for his inclusiveness and as a symbol of national unity. His coffin was later taken to the royal crypt at Akershus Fortress.

# Soccer: Australian World Cup player Cristian Volpato has received a fine for testing positive for cocaine after being pulled over for speeding in Sydney in July. New South Wales police say his second sample also produced a positive test. The 22-year-old midfielder was fined eight-thousand-300-rand. Volpato represented Italy at various youth levels before switching his allegiance to Australia, where he was born, shortly before the World Cup. He played three matches in the tournament.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-1-cents against the rand and the euro at 18-rand-65-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-70-cents and Bitcoin trades at 79-thousand-561-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-408-dollars-97-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 102-dollars-29-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….