News 09:00

BULLETIN 31 August 9 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Deputy President Paul Mashatile will today participate in a high-level BRICS Energy Seminar
# A Limpopo farmer and his two employees’ murder case has been postponed for a bail hearing
# And, athletics: Bayanda Walaza storms to a sprint double at the World U20 Championships in Lima

# Deputy president Paul Mashatile will today participate in the High-Level Energy Seminar at the BRICS 9th Annual New Development Bank Ministers Meeting in Cape Town. The seminar, themed Securing South Africa’s Future, will explore collaborative opportunities among BRICS members and the new members of the New Development Bank, including Bangladesh, Egypt, and the UAE. Mashatile is expected to outline South Africa’s energy sector reforms, drawing on BRICS experiences to enhance grid stability and renewable energy integration.

Meanwhile, the New Development Bank signed a five-billion-rand loan agreement with Transnet at the annual meeting in Cape Town. The loan will support Transnet’s freight rail sector renewal, focusing on infrastructure and fleet overhauls. Transnet CEO Michelle Phillips highlighted the urgent need to improve the rail network. Additionally, BRICS SA’s Ben Joubert mentioned 13 infrastructure projects needing 103-billion-rand in funding:

# The case against Limpopo farmer Zachariah Johannes Olivier and two employees, accused of premeditated murder, has been postponed to 10 September for a possible bail hearing. The trio, appeared in Mankweng Magistrate’s Court facing multiple charges. The NPA’s Mashudu Malabi-Dzhangi says the charges stem from an incident on Olivier’s farm that left two women dead and another person injured:

# Ukraine has urged Mongolia to arrest Russian president Vladimir Putin ahead of his visit to the country next week, his first to an International Criminal Court member state since the body issued a warrant for his arrest. The court alleges Putin is responsible for war crimes, saying he failed to stop the unlawful deportation of children from Ukraine to Russia. Moscow has previously denied the allegations and labelled the warrants outrageous. Last year, Putin cancelled a visit to a summit in South Africa following the ICC warrant for his arrest.

# And, athletics: The South African sprinting sensation Bayanda Walaza last night added a win in the men’s 200 metres to his title in the 100 metres from earlier in the week at the World U20 Championships in Lima, Peru. Walaza simply exploded out of the blocks and finished in 20.52 seconds. Walaza formed part of South Africa’s silver medal-winning 4×100 metre relay team at the Olympic Games in Paris. Also yesterday, South Africa’s Udeme Okon won the men’s 400 metre final in a time of 45.69 seconds.

Stay tuned for more news………….