News 17:00

BULLETIN NEWS AGENCY 16 August 5 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# South Africa’s nuclear plans will undergo additional public consultation
# Amcu laments the lack of accountability 12 years after the Marikana massacre
# And, mixed martial arts: Cape Town’s mayor promises a UFC event if Dricus du Plessis beats Israel Adesanya on Sunday

# Minister of Electricity and Energy Kgosientsho Ramokgopa says South Africa’s nuclear energy plans will undergo additional public consultation. In a media briefing, he announced the withdrawal of a previous gazette on the nuclear build programme, to allow for more public input to address legal challenges and enhance transparency. According to Ramokgopa, the revised process will involve expanded public input to ensure greater accountability in the procurement of the two-thousand-500 megawatts nuclear programme:

# Mineworkers’ union Amcu has criticised the lack of accountability 12 years after the Marikana massacre, where 34 people were killed and 78 injured. President Joseph Mathunjwa says despite the 150-million-rand Farlam Commission wrapping up in 2014, no one has been held accountable. He says justice remains elusive, calling for urgent reforms in the country’s policing system:

# United Nations-appointed experts have urged Zimbabwe to release the three rights activists, Namatai Kwekweza, Robson Chere, and Samuel Gwenzi. They were arrested on 31 July for supporting jailed opposition leader Jameson Timba. The activists were reportedly held without contact, tortured, and charged with disorderly conduct, which the experts called baseless. As Zimbabwe prepares to host the Southern African Development Community summit, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International has criticised the government’s actions and called for the activists’ release.

# Russian attacks killed three civilians and injured five more in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region in the last 24-hours, after Moscow’s forces mounted pressure to reach the city of Pokrovsk. Donetsk, which Russian troops partially occupy, regularly comes under Russian shelling and air strikes. Ukraine says capturing the region is a battlefield priority for Moscow. Russian forces stepped up their attacks on the Pokrovsk front this week after Ukrainian forces launched a surprise assault on Wednesday. It said it had advanced 35-kilometres into Russia’s Kursk region.

# Mixed martial arts: Cape Town mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis is committed to hosting a UFC event if Dricus du Plessis successfully defends his world title against Israel Adesanya. They are set to clash in Perth, Australia, at 6.30 South African time on Sunday. Du Plessis captured the middleweight title in January with victory over Sean Strickland in Toronto, becoming the first South African to secure a UFC championship. UFC president Dana White then hinted the organisation might consider hosting an event in South Africa.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-89-cents and the euro at 19-rand-68-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-9-cents and Bitcoin trades at 58-thousand-740-dollars-8-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-487-dollars-1-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 79-dollars-43-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….