News 12:00

BULLETIN 26 August 12 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The DA will vote against a motion of no confidence in the National Assembly speaker
# South Africa’s Air Traffic and Navigation Services face a critical skills crisis with a shortage of Air Traffic Controllers
# And rugby: Anton Segner becomes the latest All Black sent home due to injury

# The DA will today vote against the EFF’s motion of no confidence in National Assembly speaker Thoko Didiza. The party’s chief whip, George Michalakis, says they have been very critical of Didiza in her approach to the interdict application brought by president Cyril Ramaphosa in the impeachment process. He says they agreed a clear recruitment policy must be put in place to appoint the secretary to Parliament and all senior managers:

# South Africa’s Air Traffic and Navigation Services is facing a critical skills crisis due to an exodus of experienced air traffic controllers who are being poached by international competitors. ATNS says aggressive headhunting from countries like the United Arab Emirates and Australia has left key operations severely understaffed. The approach control unit at OR Tambo International Airport in Gauteng, which manages the critical part of flights, is operating at just 57-percent of its required staffing target. ATNS has launched an accelerated recruitment drive, implementing open-ended advertising and headhunting.

Meanwhile, police and their law-enforcement partners have intercepted two separate consignments of suspected cocaine worth an estimated 200-million-rand at OR Tambo. In the first incident, two large travel suitcases were intercepted at the terminal, containing blocks weighing approximately 84 kilograms. National police spokesperson Athlenda Mathe says in a separate interception at the cargo section, four boxes containing approximately 250 kilograms, packed into 220 blocks, were seized:

Moving abroad:

# United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has warned critical food systems and the lives and livelihoods they sustain are under attack amidst several conflicts. 2025 saw not only the highest number of armed conflicts since World War Two, but also among the highest levels of acute hunger on record, with at least 266-million people facing acute food insecurity. Guterres says conflicts and disruptions to key maritime routes are squeezing the global food system:

# Rugby: All Blacks loose forward Anton Segner has been ruled out of the remainder of Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry tour of South Africa through injury. He was a late withdrawal from the match-day squad for the first Test at Ellis Park, after complaining of a swollen ankle. Coach Dave Rennie has confirmed that Segner has undergone minor surgery and will return home to continue his recovery. No replacement will be called up. Four injured All Blacks have already returned to New Zealand, and two more are recovering from concussion.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 15-rand-93-cents and the euro at 18-rand-59-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-71-cents and Bitcoin trades at 78-thousand-963-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-629-dollars-34-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 87-dollars-66-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….