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BULLETIN 18 August 9 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The DA in Gauteng warns of the consequences after the council rejects a motion to dissolve the council
# A large fire breaks out at Somerset House in London, but artworks are safe
# And in mixed martial arts, Dricus du Plessis remains the World Champion

# The DA warns of dire consequences after its motion to dissolve Johannesburg’s City Council was rejected. DA Johannesburg caucus leader Belinda Kayser-Echeozonjoku says a fractured coalition, with support from multiple parties, including the EFF, GOOD Party, ATM, ActionSA, and ACDP chose to elect Dada Morero as Johannesburg’s mayor. She has criticises this decision, claiming it aligns with a legacy of corruption and decline:

# The Johannesburg Crisis Alliance, represented by Neeshan Balton, have voiced disappointment in new Johannesburg mayor Dada Morero’s executive appointments. While Morero retained most of his executive, he appointed former mayor Kabelo Gwamanda for Community Development and former Council Speaker Margaret Arnold for Finance. He told Newzroom Afrika that the alliance hoped for fresh faces in the executive team:

# Around 125 firefighters on Saturday tackled a blaze at Somerset House in central London, which has since been contained. The director of Somerset House Trust said the fire broke out in the west wing of the building where there are no artworks. There were no reported injuries, and the cause of the fire is not yet known. Somerset House is on the site of a palace dating back to the Tudors. The venue is also home to an art museum which houses Vincent Van Gogh’s “Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear” as well as works by Edouard Manet, Claude Monet and Paul Cezanne.

# Mixed martial arts: South Africa’s UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis successfully defended his title this morning in Perth, by winning by submission in the fourth round of his fight against Nigerian-New Zealander Israel Adesanya. The 30-year-old Du Plessis defended his title for the first time since winning it in January against American Sean Strickland. After beating the Wallabies on Saturday, the Springbok rugby team gave their full support to Du Plessis, with captain Siya Kolisi and lock Eben Etzebeth walking him out to the octagon. The weekend was billed as a South African takeover of Perth with Du Plessis headlining UFC 305 and the Boks playing the Wallabies.

# And finally, the City of Cape Town has relocated more than 160 people from the streets to transitional Safe Space shelters following a final eviction order by the High Court in the Western Cape. Around 140 individuals moved to the new Ebenezer Safe Space, while 26 others relocated to Culemborg Safe Space. The City also assisted some individuals in returning to their home communities. The relocation is part of ongoing efforts to restore public spaces in the CBD.

ay tuned for more news………….