News 18:00

BULLETIN 4 August 6 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Minister Ronald Lamola confirms a new US ambassador will be announced soon
# Soccer: Lionel Messi is sidelined indefinitely with a muscle injury
# And South Africa and Zimbabwe unite to break the Guinness World Record for the largest marimba ensemble

# International Relations and Cooperation minister Ronald Lamola says the absence of a South African ambassador in Washington has not affected trade negotiations with the US. In a joint media briefing with the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Competition, Lamola confirmed that president Cyril Ramaphosa will announce a new ambassador soon, but says the decision will be made carefully and without outside influence:

# Parliament’s select committee on Public Infrastructure has called for further reform in South Africa’s infrastructure delivery systems. This follows the precautionary suspension of Independent Development Trust CEO Tebogo Malaka after a PricewaterhouseCoopers forensic report found she failed to act on red flags in an 836-million-rand oxygen plant tender. Chairperson Rikus Badenhorst calls it a clear step toward consequence management, and urges further reforms to restore public trust:

# The Food and Allied Workers’ Union has slammed South African Breweries and parent company A-B In-Bev over its plan to retrench 233 workers. The union believes the process is rushed and unfair, and ignores a ruling by a Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration facilitator to release key documents. FAWU’s Dominique Martin says workers are being forced to reapply for jobs under unfair conditions and serve notice before formal retrenchment:

# Soccer: Inter Miami says captain Lionel Messi will be sidelined indefinitely after suffering a minor muscle injury in his right leg. The 38-year-old Argentine sustained the injury during a Leagues Cup match against Mexico’s Necaxa in Florida on Saturday. The match ended in a 2-all draw. The club says Messi’s medical clearance will depend on his clinical progress and response to treatment. Messi shares the Major League Soccer season lead with 18 goals and also has nine assists in 18 matches.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-94-cents and the euro at 20-rand-77-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-89-cents and Bitcoin trades at 115-thousand-413-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-376-dollars-85-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 68-dollars-35-cents a barrel.

# And finally: A new world record has been set in Cape Town as one-thousand-276 marimba players performed in unison at the Grand West Arena. The event smashed the Guinness World Record for the largest marimba ensemble in the world. The previous world record was 550 players, at an event in Guatemala. The ensemble brought together talented musicians aged between eight and 62. The children represented over 70 schools from South Africa and two from Zimbabwe. The group played a ten-minute medley that included Waka Waka and Jerusalema.

Stay tuned for more news………….