News 12:00

BULLETIN 29 July 12 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The public will have access to the hearings into the KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner’s allegations
# The City of Tshwane is still considering the proposal to lease the Pretoria City Hall to the Iranian embassy
# And World Rugby’s CEO backs the match officials in the second Test between die Wallabies and the Lions

# Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga has confirmed that the public will have access to the hearings of the commission of inquiry into KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi’s claims of political interference. The inquiry will also livestream proceedings, unless otherwise directed. Madlanga noted pending Constitutional Court litigation challenging the commission’s establishment. He confirmed they will comply with any court ruling, but says preparations for public hearings are moving forward:

# The City of Tshwane says it is considering, but has not committed to a request by the Iranian embassy to lease the vacant Pretoria City Hall. The hall has not been in operation for about a decade now and requires about 200-million-rand to fix. The embassy says it wants to build a dynamic cultural hub. Mayoral committee member for Corporate and Shared Services, Kholofelo Morodi, says interactions between the metro and the Iranian embassy remain entirely exploratory, with no commitments made by either party.

# The DA in Gauteng is concerned that seven-thousand-743 patients got hospital-acquired infections last year, including many antibiotic-resistant infections that are difficult to treat and could be life-threatening. These are known as nosocomial infections, which develop during a hospital stay. The DA’s Jack Bloom says the Gauteng Health Department has blamed staff shortages, overcrowding, and inadequate hand hygiene facilities:

# The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition says South African companies at the International Defence Industry Fair in Istanbul, Turkey, saw promising results. A company that makes protective clothing, Imperial Armour, recorded 12 leads from ten countries while Canvas and Tent that manufactures camping systems, secured a non-disclosure agreement with a European firm. The department has hailed the event as a success for local defence exporters.

On to sports news:

# World Rugby CEO Alan Gilpin has expressed support for the match officials involved in the second Test between Australia and the British and Irish Lions in Melbourne. Officials have faced criticism, including from Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt and Rugby Australia’s CEO, Phil Waugh, for not penalising Jac Morgan for a clear-out in the lead-up to Lions fullback Hugo Keenan’s match-winning try. Gilpin says they are undertaking their normal review of the refereeing decisions, but the findings won’t be made public.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-93-cents and the euro at 20-rand-74-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-92-cents and Bitcoin trades at 119-thousand-56-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-327-dollars-27-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 69-dollars-40-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….