News 13:00

BULLETIN 20 August 1 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Activists and Citizens Forum says Zondo has done all possible to expose the depth of corruption
# Israeli retrieves the bodies of six hostages from Gaza
# And the Somkhanda Game Reserve in KZN launches a rhino dehorning initiative to combat poaching

# The Activists and Citizens Forum says Chief Justice Raymond Zondo has done everything in his power to expose the depth of corruption and state capture in the country by producing a detailed report with findings and clear recommendations. The forum’s spokesperson, Dennis Bloem, says Zondo was insulted and his life was threatened by thieves who were busy destroying the economy. He says the forum wishes Zondo a restful retirement:

# Police have arrested nearly 14-thousand suspects during nationwide Shanela operations in the last seven days. Among the arrests, over two-thousand-800 were wanted for serious crimes, including murder, rape, and illegal firearm possession. Police also seized 112 firearms, one-thousand-491 rounds of ammunition, and 85 stolen vehicles. Police spokesperson Athlenda Mathe says major successes include the interception of a 300-million-rand drug bust and the seizure of counterfeit goods worth 37-million-rand: 

# The Israeli Army says it retrieved the bodies of six hostages from Gaza’s southern area of Khan Yunis in a joint operation with internal security agency Shin Bet. The families of the hostages have been informed following intelligence and forensic analysis. Mediators Egypt, Qatar and the United States are urging Israel and Hamas to agree a ceasefire deal that would help secure the release of remaining hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.

# Cycling: Track cyclist Matt Richardson has announced he is switching nationality from Australian to British following his three medals at the Paris Olympics for Australia. He was born in Kent, England, and moved to Australia at the age of nine while maintaining dual citizenship. The 25-year-old, who is also a two-time Commonwealth champion, says he made the personal choice after careful consideration of his career and future, wanting to push himself to new heights. Richardson won two silver medals and a bronze in Paris.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-79-cents and the euro at 19-rand-71-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-12-cents and Bitcoin trades at 60-thousand-811-dollars-68-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-517-dollars-79-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 76-dollars-72-cents a barrel.

# And finally, the Somkhanda Game Reserve in northern KwaZulu-Natal has launched a rhino dehorning initiative to tackle the escalating poaching crisis. The community-owned reserve, home to the Big Five, was the first to welcome black rhinos through the World Wildlife Fund’s Black Rhino Range Expansion Project in 2007. This latest dehorning initiative marks a significant success, not only for the reserve but for overall rhino conservation in the province, which lost 325 rhinos to poaching last year.

Stay tuned for more news………….