News 11:00

BULLETIN 26 August 11 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# President Ramaphosa says those responsible for state capture are being held accountable
# One tourist is dead and two are missing after an ice cave collapses in Iceland
# And cricket: The Protea women start their training camp in the run-up to the T20 World Cup

# President Cyril Ramaphosa says the government has worked hard to hold those responsible for state capture to account, recover stolen funds, and also put in place laws to ensure that state capture never happens again. The state has secured nearly ten-billion-rand in forfeiture orders and settlement agreements linked to state capture cases. In addition, preservation and restraint orders to the value of 17-billion-rand have been granted while court processes are underway. In his weekly newsletter, Ramaphosa says government continues to take steps to prevent, detect, and act against corruption.

# The DA has welcomed the decision by Agriculture minister John Steenhuisen to investigate the missing 500-million-rand at Onderstepoort Biological Products in Pretoria. OBP is a state-owned animal vaccine manufacturing entity whose primary mandate is to manufacture animal vaccines. The DA’s Willie Aucamp says it is clear that something untoward is going on at Onderstepoort, and an investigation is warranted:

# The Hawks say Gauteng continues to serve as a hunting ground for criminals and serious crimes. Unpacking achievements during the first quarter of the 2024/’25 financial year, Hawks head, Godfrey Lebeya, revealed that most arrests were effected in Gauteng, with 167 suspects arrested, followed by KwaZulu-Natal and North West. Lebeya says every case tackled by his division is a priority that must be followed to the very end:

# A tourist has died and two more are missing after an ice cave collapsed during a tour group visit to a glacier in Iceland. The incident occurred when a group of about 25 foreign tourists from various countries were exploring the glacier in the south of the country. One person was severely injured. Authorities say efforts to transport equipment and personnel up to the glacier have proven difficult due to the rugged terrain, and cutting through the ice was mostly done by hand with chainsaws.

# Cricket: The Proteas Women have convened in Durban for a national training camp, in preparation for the T20 World Cup. This follows a skills camp in Tshwane earlier this month. Interim head coach Dillon du Preez says the camp at Kingsmead will help ensure they have the best possible squad ready for the World Cup, starting in the United Arab Emirates in early October. The tournament was moved to the UAE last week because of the political turmoil in Bangladesh.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-79-cents and the euro at 19-rand-89-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-48-cents and Bitcoin trades at 68-thousand-888-dollars-27-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-517-dollars-28-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 79-dollars-68-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….