News 07:00

BULLETIN 11 July 7 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The judiciary requests Mkhwanazi to furnish evidence for his allegations
# RISE Mzansi urges action on the gambling addiction crisis
# And a judge blocks Trump’s executive order on birthright citizenship

# The Judiciary is demanding that KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner, Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, provide evidence of alleged collusion between amongst others, the Judiciary and criminals. He also accused Police minister Senzo Mchunu of political interference in high-profile cases. Office of the Chief Justice’s spokesperson, Bongiwe Gambu, says such claims, made without substantiation, are extremely damaging to public confidence in the independence and integrity of the courts:

# The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development Working Group on Bribery says South Africa has made progress in fighting foreign bribery, despite past damage caused by State capture. Its Phase 4 report highlights stronger investigations, legal reforms, and cross-border cooperation. Since 2014, South Africa has opened 18 bribery cases but still faces challenges in its 14 ongoing investigations. However, OECD welcomes whistleblower protections and urges enhanced detection, prosecution, and corporate accountability ahead of SA’s 2027 OECD compliance report.

# RISE Mzansi says gambling addiction has become a national crisis and must be recognised as a social ill. Parliamentary chief whip Makashule Gana told the National Assembly that even schoolchildren are now addicted, harming their development. Gana echoed Rhodes University student Reatlegile Matsunyane’s call for trauma-informed, community-rooted support systems. He urged the Social Development Department to involve young people in co-creating solutions, warning South Africa faces not just poverty, but a deepening care crisis.

# Two alleged kidnappers were shot dead and three others arrested during a rescue operation of a 60-year-old businessman in Randfontein, west of Gauteng, on Thursday. The man was kidnapped on the 29th of May this year in Lenasia, south of Johannesburg. National Police spokesperson, Athlenda Mathe, says following his kidnapping, the family began receiving a ransom demand of at least 15-million-rand:

# A federal judge in New Hampshire has blocked president Donald Trump’s executive order seeking to end birthright citizenship. The executive order denies citizenship to those born to undocumented parents living in the US or temporarily. The lawsuit was brought on behalf of a pregnant immigrant, immigrant parents, and their infants. Judge Joseph LaPlante states that depriving a person of the longstanding right to birthright citizenship causes irreparable harm and that birthright citizenship is the greatest privilege that exists in the world.

# Tennis: Five-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek will face American Amanda Anisimova in the Wimbledon final tomorrow. The Polish former world number one eased past Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic, 6-2, 6-0, while Anisimova stunned world number one Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4. Both Swiatek and Anisimova will be playing in their first Wimbledon final. Twenty-three-year-old Anisimova says that to be in the final is just indescribable:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-74-cents and the euro at 20-rand-71-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-5-cents and Bitcoin trades at 115-thousand-962-dollar. Gold sells at three-thousand-329-dollars-14-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 68-dollars-41-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….