News 17:00

BULLETIN 7 August 5 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Cabinet says the Madlanga commission’s investigation will rebuild public trust
# Minister Dean Macpherson vows to dismantle corruption networks within the Independent Development Trust
# And the Kremlin confirms Putin and Trump will meet in the coming days

# Cabinet has welcomed the appointment of Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga as chairperson of the judicial commission of onquiry into criminality, political interference, and corruption in the criminal justice system. This follows allegations made by KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi. Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni says the commission’s investigation will rebuild public trust:

# Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure, Dean Macpherson, says he is determined to dismantle criminal networks within the Independent Development Trust. This follows after he opened a criminal case against suspended CEO Tebogo Malaka and spokesperson Phasha Makgolane, accused of attempting to bribe a journalist to bury a corruption story. Speaking outside the Cape Town Central police station, Macpherson promised to take firm action to root out corruption and restore public trust. He pledged to protect whistleblowers and journalists exposing wrongdoing:

# Following an unusually wet summer, the Western Cape Department of Agriculture urges horse owners to vaccinate against African Horse Sickness, which is a fatal equine disease. South Africa is divided into control zones, with mandatory vaccination required in infected zones and protection zones between June and October. In free and surveillance zones, vaccination requires state approval. Head of Communication Mary James says proper vaccination supports horse movement and protects South Africa’s equine export trade. Only the live attenuated AHS vaccine from Onderstepoort is authorised.

Moving abroad:

# Russian president Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart, Donald Trump, will meet in the coming days in the first encounter between leaders of the two countries since 2021. The announcement follows a day after Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, held talks with Putin with the aim to try and end the Ukrainian war. Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov says an agreement was essentially reached for a high-level bilateral meeting in the coming days. Trump has threatened new sanctions against Russia and countries that buy its exports if there is no deal.

# Tennis: Ukrainian player Elina Svitolina blames disgruntled gamblers for online abuse, including death threats, after she lost to Japan’s Naomi Osaka in the semifinal of the Canadian Open. She posted some of the messages on social media, saying the way the senders talk to women or mothers were shameful. Some of the messages refer to the ongoing war between Svitolina’s country and Russia. A recent study shows angry gamblers were responsible for nearly half of all the abuse directed at players on social media last year.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-70-cents and the euro at 20-rand-62-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-76-cents and Bitcoin trades at 116-thousand-309-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-383-dollars-27-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 66-dollars-69-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….