News 09:00

BULLETIN 10 July 9 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Sadtu is concerned about increasing attacks on schools, principals, and teachers
# The advertising watchdog slams Discovery over a misleading advert
# And tennis, Alcaraz sets up a Wimbledon semifinal clash against Medvedev

# The South African Democratic Teachers’ Union says it is concerned about the increasing attacks on schools, principals, and teachers by community structures. Schools have reopened for the third term. In Limpopo alone, four schools were robbed and vandalised during the holidays, resulting in damages costing thousands of rands. The union’s general secretary, Mugwena Maluleke, says any community that promotes lawlessness in learning institutions is counter-revolutionary:

# The Advertising Regulatory Board has instructed Discovery to rectify its advertising claims for its severe illness benefit, which were found misleading. News24 reports, Discovery had asserted that clients could make multiple claims for severe illnesses regardless of relatedness to previous claims, a claim the board found to contradict policy limitations. This decision follows a previous directive for Discovery to retract a misleading gap cover advertisement. The financial services company defended its stance by highlighting the complexities of medical conditions and promised clearer communication through its benefit guides.

# ActionSA says the City of Johannesburg’s proposed 2.5-billion-rand loan from the French Development Agency constitutes a costly and negligible debt burden to residents. The Johannesburg council rejected the loan, with 118 councillors voting against it and 111 in favour. Three councillors abstained. ActionSA’s, Nobuhle Mthembu, says the city must instead focus on collecting revenue from the numerous departments that owe it millions of rands, an amount roughly equal to the proposed loan:

# Liberian president Joseph Boakai has announced a 40-percent salary cut to set a precedent for responsible governance and tackle poverty and corruption in the nation. Boakai, sworn in for a six-year term in January, reduced his annual earnings from 243-thousand-rand to over 145-thousand-rand. His pay cut reflects a commitment to improving living conditions, strengthening government accountability, and demonstrating solidarity with the people. Liberia remains one of the poorest nations, with over half the population living in poverty.

# Tennis: Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz of Spain will face Russia’s Daniil Medvedev in the semifinals at Wimbledon. Alcaraz rallied from a set down to beat American Tommy Paul, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-2, while Medvedev knocked out world number one Jannik Sinner of Italy, 6-7, 6-4, 7-6, 2-6, 6-3. In the women’s draw, Jasmine Paolini is the first Italian woman in the open era to reach the Wimbledon semifinals, after beating American Emma Navarro, 6-2, 6-1. She will face Croatia’s Donna Vekic, who defeated New Zealand qualifier Lulu Sun.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-14-cents and the euro at 19-rand-63-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-21-cents and Bitcoin trades at 58-thousand-889-dollars-60-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-367-dollars-50-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 84-dollars-39-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….