News 06:00

BULLETIN 20 July 6 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Eskom says Koeberg’s radioactive contamination incidents posed no danger to the public
# The DA calls for the urgent consideration of the Electricity Regulation Amendment Bill
# And rugby: The Cheetahs and Boland start their Currie Cup campaigns victorious

# Eskom has confirmed that no radiation leak occurred during routine maintenance at Koeberg Nuclear Power Station’s Unit Two in Cape Town. This follows three airborne contamination events that were recorded at the unit between 30 June and 7 July. The incident occurred during a process called Eddy Current Testing, which is known to dislodge small radioactive particles into the air in a controlled environment. Eskom board chairperson Mteto Nyati says Koeberg’s multiple layers of safety and containment functioned exactly as designed:

# The DA is calling on the Parliament Portfolio Committee on Electricity and Energy to give urgent consideration to the Electricity Regulation Amendment Bill when introduced. The party Kevin Mileham says the devastating error made by the National Energy Regulator last year, leaving a 54-billion-rand shortfall in Eskom’s revenue, is likely to kill over 41-thousand jobs as higher electricity charges come into effect. He says this is a crisis:

# Gauteng premier Panya Lesufi says government will continue to strengthen its fight against illegal mining and organised crime. This followed the death of two South African National Defence Force members after falling down a shaft at an abandoned mine in Florida, west of Johannesburg, on Friday during operations against illegal mining. Government spokesperson, Sizwe Pamla, says the government will not relent in its efforts to restore law and order:

# The South African Social Security Agency reiterated its zero-tolerance stance on fraud and corruption, saying it remains committed to safeguarding the integrity of the social grant system and ensuring that grant funds reach the rightful beneficiaries who depend on them. The agency has dismissed four officials from its Nebo Local Office in Sekhukhune, Limpopo, after they were found guilty of involvement in a 33-million-rand social grants fraud scheme. SASSA says it is strengthening measures to prevent similar incidents in the future.

# US president Donald Trump has called on Congress to add Iran to a bipartisan Russia sanctions bill. The legislation would impose 100-per cent secondary sanctions on goods originating from the top five buyers of Russian oil and natural gas, as well as target Moscow’s shadow fleet of tankers intended to evade sanctions. Earlier this month, America reimposed sanctions on Iranian oil sales in response to attacks on commercial ships near the Strait of Hormuz. This comes as the US and Iran have ramped up attacks against each other in recent weeks.

# Rugby: The Cheetahs and Boland got their Currie Cup Premier Division campaigns off to a winning start yesterday. The Cheetahs narrowly defeated the Lions 29-27 in Bloemfontein. Both sides scored four tries, and while veteran flyhalf Jaco van der Walt failed to convert any of them, he was able to score three penalties that proved to be the difference for the Cheetahs. Last year’s semi-finalists, the Boland Cavaliers, defeated the Bulls XV 24-10 in Wellington, scoring three tries to one.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-55-cents and the euro at 18-rand-92-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-25-cents and Bitcoin trades at 64-thousand-660-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-997-dollars-6-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 86-dollars-67-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….