News 08:00

BULLETIN 14 August 8 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The DA leader says the unemployment figures are a call to action
# Iran rejects calls not to retaliate against Israel
# And Olympic Games: Sporting officials are under pressure after Nigeria wins no medals in Paris

# The DA in the government of national unity says it is firmly committed, over the next five years, to reducing unemployment and bringing back dignity to millions of South Africans without jobs or decent incomes. The unemployment rate has increased from 32.9-percent in the first quarter to 33.5-percent in the second quarter of this year. DA leader John Steenhuisen says within government they will vigorously pursue adopting and implementing pro-growth, pro-jobs policies with the urgency the country requires.

Meanwhile, the EFF says the country’s unemployment situation has been made worse by the horrid DA-ANC government given the extractive and exploitative policies of the DA. The EFF’s, Mbali Dlamini, says the DA has sprung into action fast-tracking work visas, which prioritise the influx of cheap labour, and amendments to the Labour Relations Act that will allow employers to exploit a desperate labour force:

# City Power has been granted leave to appeal a Johannesburg High Court ruling in favour of Eskom, related to a billing dispute. In June, City Power and the City of Johannesburg were ordered to pay Eskom more than one-billion-rand plus interest accrued for the cost of the bulk electricity supply services for March. City Power’s spokesperson, Isaac Mangena, says they filed an appeal because critical aspects of the evidence were not fully considered by the court in reaching its conclusion:

# Iran says calls from Western countries to refrain from retaliation against Israel are in complete contradiction to the principles and rules of international law, and excessive. On Monday, the leaders of the UK, France, and Germany issued a joint statement urging Iran and its allies to refrain from attacks that would further escalate regional tensions. Iran and its allies have blamed Israel for the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last month. It says a punitive response to an aggressor is a legal right of any country.

# Olympic Games: After Nigeria failed to win any medals in the Olympics, sporting officials are under pressure from accusations of incompetence and calls for reform. While smaller nations on the continent came home with multiple medals, the Giant of Africa left empty-handed for the first time since the 2012 London Olympics. A day after the Paris Olympics closed, former and current Olympians lashed out at the country’s sporting federations calling for a shakeup in organisations they say failed their athletes.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-12-cents and the euro at 19-rand-93-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-31-cents and Bitcoin trades at 61-thousand-110-dollars-4-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-459-dollars-64-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 81-dollars a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….