News 08:00

BULLETIN 16 July 8 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# EFF says State Security is largely useless and unproductive
# Eskom resumes the implementation of load reduction in Gauteng
# And, Trump has picked JD Vance as his vice president

# The EFF says state security remains largely useless and unproductive, especially after the embarrassing display of incompetence following the July unrest in 2021. The party rejected the 4.4-billion-rand proposed budget for the Department of State Security in Parliament yesterday. EFF secretary general, Marshall Dlamini, says the country’s intelligence agencies still have to unlock the several infiltrations, misinformation and information paddlers within its ranks:

# Rise Mzansi says quality basic education is a right, not a privilege, criticising the current dual education system favouring the wealthy. They call for universal access to quality education, safe learning environments, and better investment in school leadership and teacher development. During the budget vote for Basic Education, Rise Mzansi’s Makashule Gana urges the government to prioritise these issues in the budget to ensure no child is left behind:

# Eskom in Gauteng says it has resumed the implementation of load reduction in the province, as illegal connections and electricity theft continue to burden transformer load. Load reduction is a long-established process that the power utility uses in specific areas when there is sufficient electricity available, but a transformer’s integrity is at risk due to overloading. Eskom’s spokesperson, Amanda Qithi, says a transformer damaged by overloading can leave an area without power for up to six months:

# The Republican National Convention has formally nominated former president Donald Trump as the party’s presidential nominee for the November elections. In return, he has picked Ohio senator JD Vance as his vice president. Vance, a venture capitalist, was once among Trump’s conservative critics, even describing the former president as America’s Hitler in 2016. The 39-year-old reinvented himself as a Trump supporter in recent years and ultimately won the former president’s key endorsement in the 2022 Ohio Senate race. President Joe Biden has called Vance a clone of Trump.

# Golf: Fifteen-time Major champion Tiger Woods returns to action at The Open at Royal Troon in Scotland this week after missing last year’s contest through injury. The former world number one is set to complete all four majors for the first time in a calendar year since 2019. The 48-year-old American missed the halfway cut at both the US PGA Championship and US Open this year and has not played since. However, Woods insists he feels strong enough to compete. American Brian Harman is the defending champion.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-20-cents and the euro at 19-rand-83-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-60-cents and Bitcoin trades at 64-thousand-697-dollars-4-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-427-dollars-29-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 84-dollars-61-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….