News 08:00

BULLETIN 16 August 8 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Floyd Shivambu’s move to the MK Party may be linked to the VBS scandal
# Today marks 12 years since the Marikana massacre
# And Sweden confirms its first case of mpox

# Professor André Duvenhage believes former EFF deputy president Floyd Shivambu’s decision to leave the Red Berets for the MK Party must have been triggered by something major. Shivambu’s departure comes just months after the EFF was dislodged as the third-largest party in the country following the May general elections. Speaking to Newzroom Afrika, Duvenhage says Shivambu could be seeking refuge in light of the allegations against him related to the VBS scandal:

# Today marks 12 years since the Marikana massacre, where 44 people were killed including 34 striking mineworkers in the North West. More than 90 were wounded and over 200 were arrested following clashes with police. The mineworkers were protesting for a living wage and better working conditions in a dangerous and historically exploitative industry. According to the Office of the Solicitor General, the state has settled about 71-million-rand in loss of support to 34 affected families. However, of the 315 claimants, about 129 people have received nothing.

# Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi says fighting crime is their apex priority and that any form of lawlessness would be rooted out. He delivered his state of the province address under the government of provincial unity in Katlehong, Ekurhuleni, yesterday evening. One-thousand-787 people were murdered in Gauteng between October and December last year, registering an increase of 3.8-percent. Lesufi says they will continue to ramp up measures to reduce crime:

# Sweden has confirmed its first case of mpox, marking the first time it has been found outside Africa. This comes after the World Health Organisation declared mpox a global public health emergency for the second time in two years. The person from Sweden became infected during a stay in an area of Africa where there is a major virus outbreak. More than 14-thousand mpox cases and 524 deaths in more than a dozen countries across Africa have been recorded this year, exceeding last year’s figures.

# Tennis: Defending champion and second seed Coco Gauff is out of the Cincinnati Open after losing to Kazakhstan’s world number 34 Yulia Putintseva in three sets. Putintseva defeated the American, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4. There were also wins for Spain’s Paula Badosa and American Taylor Townsend. In the men’s draw, Germany’s Alexander Zverev became the first player to earn 50 tour-level wins this season when he overcame Russia’s Karen Khachanov 6-3, 6-2.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-98-cents and the euro at 19-rand-75-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-15-cents and Bitcoin trades at 58-thousand-110-dollars-99-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-451-dollars-58-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 80-dollars-80-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….