News 18:00

BULLETIN NEWS AGENCY 14 August 6 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Action Society says South Africa’s crime rates resemble anarchy amid unsolved cases
# ActionSA demands action for obstruction of NPA access to state capture evidence
# And Olympic Games: France investigates cyberbullying after a complaint from the Algerian boxing champion

# Action Society has expressed grave concern over the high number of unsolved criminal cases. Since 2018 over 76-thousand murders and 40-thousand attempted murders remain unsolved, along with 61-thousand-740 rape cases and 256-thousand aggravated robbery cases. A shortage of eight-thousand-500 detectives and 527 voluntary resignations from the Police Service have exacerbated the issue. Action Society’s Juanita du Preez criticised the police’s lack of specialised personnel and the impact of political interference:

# ActionSA plans to write to president Cyril Ramaphosa, demanding action against the Department of Justice for obstructing the National Prosecuting Authority. Reports indicate that the Investigating Directorate has been denied access to crucial state capture evidence due to the department’s negligence. ActionSA’s Athol Trollip calls on Ramaphosa to expedite the implementation of the NPA Amendment Act, and enhance the NPA’s independence and funding:

# The signing of the second Presidential Health Compact, initially set at the Union Buildings in Pretoria for tomorrow, has been postponed to next Thursday. The Presidency says this compact builds on the 2023 Presidential Health Summit, which expanded on the inaugural 2018 summit. The compact, which now includes ten pillars, aims to address key challenges in the national health system. These include infrastructure upgrades, healthcare quality, pandemic preparedness, public sector financial management improvements, governance and leadership.

# Palestinian Authority president Mahmud Abbas is set to meet Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara later today, a day after a visit to Moscow. The visit comes at a tense time during the ten-month Israel-Hamas war, with faltering efforts for a ceasefire and Israel braced for threatened attacks from Iran, following killings of senior Hamas officials in Iran and Lebanon. Erdogan has been a fierce critic of Israel’s conduct in the war sparked by Hamas’s October 7 attacks, dubbing Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu “the butcher of Gaza”.

# Olympic Games: France has launched a cyberbullying probe following a complaint by Algerian boxing champion Imane Khelif, who was at the centre of a gender controversy. The investigation was opened into so-called cyber harrassment. The athlete’s lawyer said last week 25-year old Khelif had filed a complaint for online harassment, calling it a fight for justice. She was thrust into a worldwide clash over gender identity and regulation in sports after her first fight, when Italian opponent Angela Carini pulled out just seconds into the match.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-4-cents and the euro at 19-rand-90-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-22-cents and Bitcoin trades at 59-thousand-221-dollars-7-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-454-dollars-54-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 80-dollars-52-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….