News 13:00

BULLETIN 10 July 1 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Financial Sector Conduct Authority imposes 120-million-rand in fines amid a drop in major fraud cases
# AfriForum is disappointed at the halting of Coding and Robotics as a compulsory subject in schools
# And athletics: Caster Semenya wins a landmark case at the European Court of Human Rights

# The Financial Sector Conduct Authority has revealed that it imposed fines totalling nearly 120-million-rand in the past financial year. This is a decline from the previous year, attributed to the absence of a large-scale fraud case like Steinhoff. The FSCA highlighted ongoing efforts to strengthen market integrity and protect consumers within South Africa’s financial sector. FSCA commissioner Unathi Kamlana says they seek to improve on their processes:

# AfriForum says it is disappointed that the Department of Basic Education has temporarily halted the rollout of Coding and Robotics as a compulsory subject in schools. According to the department, the process is being put on hold as it first has to focus on improving literacy and numeracy in the early grades. AfriForum’s Alana Bailey says it is clear that the department acknowledges that it is unable to ensure that most schools can offer quality education:

Meanwhile, minister of Higher Education and Training, Nobuhle Nkabane, has urged teachers to keep upskilling themselves and to keep innovating in the classroom. She addressed the Mega Maths Festival at the University of the Western Cape. The festival is hosted by the department in partnership with the European Union and the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences. Nkabane says teachers play a critical role in helping government close the skills mismatch that exists in the learning and teaching of mathematics:

# Athletics: South Africa’s Caster Semenya has won her case in the European Court of Human Rights. The court has upheld the 2023 ruling against the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland against the two-time Olympic 800-metre champion. It found the ruling discriminated after Semenya was barred from competing due to World Athletics’ testosterone-limiting rules. The rules, which were introduced in 2018, targeted athletes with differences of sexual development. Experts say the ruling could reshape global gender eligibility policies in sport and marks a major human rights victory.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-72-cents and the euro at 20-rand-79-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-12-cents and Bitcoin trades at 111-thousand-172-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-326-dollars-63-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 69-dollars-46-cents a barrel.

# And finally: Computer chip-maker Nvidia reached a record of four-trillion-dollars, equal to just over 72-trillion-rand, in its market capitalisation, making it the first company in the world to reach the milestone. Shares of the leading chip designer rose as much as 2.8-percent to an all-time high of just over two-thousand-959-rand, benefiting from an ongoing surge in demand for artificial-intelligence technologies. Nvidia’s soaring market value underscores Wall Street’s confidence in the rapid growth of AI. The company’s high-performance chips form the backbone of this technological advance.

Stay tuned for more news………….