News 17:00

BULLETIN 7 September 5 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# South Africa’s electricity generation drops nearly 8-percent in July
# The DA welcomes minister Aucamp’s swift action against allegations of foot and mouth disease vaccine pricing
# And, the Kruger National Park flood recovery gains momentum as key roads and bridge reopen

# Statistics South Africa says electricity generation fell by 7.9-percent in July, while electricity consumption dropped by 2.6-percent. Seasonally adjusted generation also declined by 0.4-percent compared with June. However, electricity distribution increased by 0.3-percent month-on-month. Stats SA’s Tsholofelo Ditinti says generation fell by 1.3-percent over the three months to July, while electricity distribution increased by 1.2-percent over the same period:

# The DA has commanded minister of Agriculture, Willie Aucamp, for his swift action over allegations of pricing of foot and mouth disease vaccines. This comes as the Onderstepoort Biological Products board has placed its acting CEO, doctor Jacob Modumo, on precautionary suspension. According to GroundUp, OBP allegedly bought FMD vaccines from Biogénesis Bagó in Argentina at 45-rand and sold them for between 70-rand and 130-rand. The DA’s Desiree van der Walt says South African cannot afford to be burdened by potentially exorbitant vaccine markups:

# The minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment David Maynier says major progress has been made in repairing flood-damaged infrastructure in the Kruger National Park. He officially handed over reconstructed culverts on the road between Skukuza and Lower Sabie in Mpumalanga and opened the restored Letaba High-Level Bridge in Limpopo. Maynier added the projects form part of efforts to make the park more resilient to extreme weather:

# China is accelerating efforts to develop humanoid robots for possible military use. A Reuters investigation found researchers linked to the People’s Liberation Army are studying how the machines could be used in battlefield roles, including reconnaissance, logistics and other hazardous missions. One defence university project envisages robots operating alongside soldiers in urban combat within the next five to ten years. The technology remains limited by problems including battery life and reliability, but China’s rapid advances in commercial robotics are giving its military a growing pool of technology to draw on.

# Soccer: Belgium won’t support Gianni Infantino’s bid for re-election as FIFA president unless it receives a satisfactory explanation over the handling of American striker Folarin Balogun’s red card during the World Cup. FIFA suspended the automatic red card, apparently after the president of co-host America, Donald Trump, spoke to Infantino, allowing Balogun to play in the last-16 match against Belgium. The country says it’s essential that such cases are handled transparently and rigorously in everyone’s interest.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 15-rand-98-cents against the rand and the euro at 18-rand-58-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-63-cents and Bitcoin trades at 79-thousand-569-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-403-dollars-62-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 99-dollars-6-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….