News 12:00

BULLETIN 22 August 12 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Defence Force dismisses reports that its Oryx helicopters are abandoned in the DRC
# The European Commission’s vice president says Vladimir Putin cannot be trusted
# And rugby: Aphelele Fassi is to start for the Springboks against the Wallabies after Willie le Roux’s withdrawal

# The South African National Defence Force says none of its Oryx helicopters are abandoned in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. According to reports, the helicopters have been stranded in the DRC due to a lack of funds. The SANDF says only one helicopter sustained damage during the United Nations peacekeeping military operations last year and will undergo repairs. It says the other helicopters are operational and remain under its strict control. The SANDF has described the reports as misleading.

# National Assembly speaker, Thoko Didiza, has expressed concern over remarks questioning the competence and integrity of Parliament’s Legal Services. The services have come under scrutiny in the ad hoc committee investigating allegations made by KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner, Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi. Parliament’s spokesperson, Moloto Mothapo, has affirmed Didiza’s confidence in the highly qualified legal team, emphasising their professionalism, ethical conduct, and constitutional expertise. He emphasised that personal attacks on legal advisers undermine Parliament’s credibility:

# The Western Cape E-hailing Association is demanding a public apology from provincial police commissioner Thembisile Patekile for the lack of urgency in responding to crimes against e-hailing operators. The association’s deputy general secretary, Yusuf Moalim, says the violent attack on three DA members of Parliament in Philippi, Cape Town, earlier this week got an immediate response from the commissioner. He says resources were mobilised and suspects were traced and arrested speedily:

Moving abroad:

# European Commission vice president, Kaja Kallas, warns that Russian president Vladimir Putin cannot be trusted to honour any promise or commitment. US president Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, confirmed earlier this week that Putin agreed to allow America to provide Ukraine with robust security guarantees. Kallas told the BBC that security guarantees must be strong and credible enough to deter Russia from re-grouping and re-attacking. She adds that the strongest security guarantee is a strong Ukrainian army:

# Rugby: Aphelele Fassi will start at fullback in the Springboks’ second Rugby Championship Test against the Wallabies in Cape Town tomorrow. This follows the withdrawal of Willie le Roux due to injury. He suffered the injury at training earlier this week and has not recovered in time. Fassi, who has 13 caps, started last week’s Test against the Wallabies in Johannesburg, where the Boks suffered a 38-22 defeat.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-67-cents and the euro at 20-rand-50-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-71-cents and Bitcoin trades at 113-thousand-55-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-329-dollars-87-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 67-dollars-16-cents a barrel. 

Stay tuned for more news………….