News 11:00

BULLETIN 29 August 11 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Ramaphosa says accountable and ethical institutions are needed to fight corruption
# France, Germany, and the UK want to reimpose UN sanctions on Iran over its nuclear programme
# And rugby: The Cheetahs’ captain hopes for a victory over Griquas in his 100th match

# President Cyril Ramaphosa says the country needs to build transparent, accountable, and ethical institutions, both public and private, in which corruption is unable to take root. He received the close-out report of the National Anti-Corruption Advisory Council. It was established in September 2022 to guide the implementation of the National Anti-Corruption Strategy and advise on strengthening the state’s anti-corruption architecture. Ramaphosa says the success of efforts in combating corruption relies on the government’s ability to prevent it in the first place.

# National Director of Public Prosecutions, Shamila Batohi, says the prosecution of state capture-era crimes will take some time. Despite improving crime conviction rates, the work of the National Prosecuting Authority has been dulled by a lack of convictions in state capture cases, almost three years after the Zondo commission’s report was finalised. Speaking at a Daily Maverick panel discussion, Batohi said she is making no excuses, but the public needs to understand the complexity of prosecuting these cases:

# The Gauteng Education Department says the 2026 online admissions application period for Grade 1 and Grade 8 will officially close at midnight today. By last night, the system had recorded a total of 800-thousand-530 Grade 1 and Grade 8 applications. The department’s spokesperson, Steve Mabona, says to date, 52-thousand-929 incomplete applications have been recorded, including parents who registered details but did not finalise school selections:

Moving abroad:

# France, Germany and the United Kingdom have begun the process to reimpose United Nations sanctions on Iran, which were lifted in 2015, in a bid to restrain its nuclear programme. The sanctions include freezing Iranian assets, halting arms deals with Tehran, and penalising any development of its ballistic missile programme. The three European nations, known as the E3, say the nuclear programme remains a clear threat to international peace and security. Iran’s Foreign Ministry has condemned the move, calling it a provocative and unnecessary escalation.

# Rugby: Captain Victor Sekekete hopes to lead the Cheetahs to victory over Griquas in his 100th match when they meet in the Currie Cup in Bloemfontein this afternoon. He describes the milestone as a dream come true, saying a victory would be the cherry on the cake. Both teams have won four of their five previous matches, with the Cheetahs top of the log and the visitors in third position. Sekekete says they fixed their mistakes after almost allowing the Lions back in the game last weekend.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-72-cents and the euro at 20-rand-68-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-91-cents and Bitcoin trades at 110-thousand-956-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-411-dollars-10-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 67-dollars-42-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….