News 09:00

BULLETIN 13 August 9 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The auditor-general wants more done to prevent material irregularities
# The police arrest over 14-thousand suspects in week-long operation
# And the US sends a guided missile submarine to the Middle East

# Auditor-General Tsakani Maluleke says financial governance is a major challenge in government departments, institutions, and municipalities. She addressed the Parliamentary Press Gallery Association on Monday. Audits undertaken per the Public Finance Management Act during the 2022/2023 financial year revealed an estimated financial loss of 14.34-billion-rand. Maluleke says most of this is irrecoverable. In local government, an estimated 5.19-billion-rand financial loss was estimated by the end of the 2022 financial year. Maluleke says more must be done to prevent material irregularities.

# Police arrested 14-thousand-157 suspects in the last seven days through Operation Shanela nationwide. This includes 159 for murder, 271 for rape, and 334 drug dealers. Police conducted 250 roadblocks and other operations, recovering 70 stolen vehicles. Spokesperson Athlenda Mathe says a kidnapped businessman was rescued and major takedowns of cash-in-transit robbers and precious metals thieves:

# Gauteng police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of three siblings from Evaton Primary School in Sebokeng and a grade eight pupil from Tsakane Secondary School in Ekurhuleni on Monday. The Gauteng Education Department’s spokesperson, Steve Mabona, says the three siblings, who were in grades three, four, and five, died from suspected food poisoning. Mabona says at the Tsakane Secondary School, two learners allegedly ingested rat poison:

# The US government sent a guided missile submarine to the Middle East, while an aircraft carrier already on its way will speed up its voyage. Defence secretary Lloyd Austin confirmed this amidst fears of a wider regional conflict following the assassinations of senior Hezbollah and Hamas leaders. BBC reports Austin as saying the US would take every possible step to defend Israel. Iran is also closely watched for a possible response to the killing of Hamas’s political leader, Ismael Haniyeh, in the Iranian capital.

# Tennis: Australian Alexei Popyrin stunned Russia’s Andrey Rublev, 6-2, 6-4, to win the Canadian Open, becoming the second-lowest-ranked champion in the tournament’s history. The 25-year-old is the first Australian to win a Masters 1000 event since Lleyton Hewitt. Popyrin will rise to a career-high ranking of 23, all but ensuring that he will be seeded at the US Open. Meanwhile, in the women’s draw, American Jessica Pegula defeated compatriot Amanda Anisimova, 6-3, 2-6, 6-1, to win the title for the second consecutive year.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-23-cents and the euro at 19-rand-95-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-30-cents and Bitcoin trades at 59-thousand-110-dollars-71-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-463-dollars-21-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 81-dollars-75-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….