News 18:00

BULLETIN 14 August 6 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Fadiel Adams says he is ready for his trial
# The Public Servants Association says South Africa’s educators are not overpaid
# And, Russia dismisses the idea of a Black Sea ceasefire

# Suspended National Coloured Congress MP Fadiel Adams says he is ready to stand trial after appearing in the Pinetown Magistrate’s Court today. The state says its investigation is complete and has asked for the case to be moved to the Regional Court for trial in September. Adams is accused of visiting two prison inmates while allegedly pretending to be on official parliamentary business. He also plans to take legal action over his arrest:

# The Public Servants Association is concerned over remarks by economist Dawie Roodt that teachers’ salaries should be halved to enable government to employ more teachers. The PSA agrees South Africa urgently needs more teachers to reduce overcrowded classrooms and improve teaching and learning. Spokesperson Claude Naicker strongly rejects the suggestion this should be achieved by cutting the salaries of existing teachers:

# Cosatu in Gauteng calls on the Gauteng Department of Health to ensure that the new mobile clinics are properly staffed, equipped, maintained and deployed to communities where the need is greatest. Cosatu chairperson, Amos Monyela says quality healthcare is a fundamental public service. He says access to healthcare is particularly important for working-class communities, because long distances, transport costs and lengthy queues can prevent workers from receiving timely medical attention:

# Russia has rejected calls for a ceasefire with Ukraine in the Black Sea. The Foreign Ministry says there are no grounds for half-measures that would give Kyiv a temporary respite. This follows Turkey’s proposal for a moratorium on military operations in the Black Sea. Russia says it has not received a formal proposal. Both Russia and Ukraine have stepped up attacks in the region, including against commercial shipping, raising concerns over global grain supplies. Moscow also ruled out reviving the previous Black Sea grain agreement.

# Rugby: Japan’s Australian coach, Eddie Jones, believes his charges have the best chance ever to beat the Wallabies when they meet in Townsville tomorrow. Japan has lost all eight Tests against Australia in the past, but is growing in confidence after losing their last two matches by a very small margin, including last weekend’s score of 35-32 in Osaka. The Wallabies are resting some of their best players, and Jones believes Japan can make history tomorrow.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-18-cents against the rand and the euro at 18-rand-74-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-93-cents and Bitcoin trades at 62-thousand-601-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-391-dollars-27-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 89-dollars-61-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….