News 07:00

BULLETIN 21 July 7 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Constitutional Court sets the deadlines in the MK Party’s case against Ramaphosa
# FlySafair says there will be no disruptions during the pilot strike
# And Gauteng will open its 2026 online admissions for Grades 1 and 8 on Thursday

# Chief Justice Mandisa Maya has set out deadlines in the MK Party’s legal challenge against president Cyril Ramaphosa’s decision to place Police Minister Senzo Mchunu on special leave. The party says Ramaphosa’s decision is irrational and inconsistent with obligations in the Constitution and the presidential oath of office. Maya has directed interested parties that wish to intervene in support of the MK Party’s case to file their applications by today. Parties that want to intervene in opposition to the main application have until Tuesday to file their answering affidavits.

# FlySafair has assured passengers that there will be no flight disruptions, as some pilots, mostly represented by Solidarity, are embarking on a strike starting today. The airline’s final multi-year wage agreement offer includes a 5.7-percent salary increase and additional compensation adjustments. However, Solidarity is demanding a 10.5-percent wage increase for 2025/2026. FlySafair’s chief marketing officer, Kirby Gordon, told the SABC that its current pay offer and rostering changes are fair:

# The GOOD Party has welcomed the decision by Public Works and Infrastructure minister, Dean Macpherson, to publicly release the Council for the Built Environment’s investigation report into the George building collapse. The party says that with the report now in the public domain, there is no longer any justification for withholding it from the George Municipality. GOOD’s Chantelle Kyd says the report must be urgently submitted to the Speaker and tabled before Council.

# The Gauteng Department of Education will open online applications for Grade 1 and Grade 8 admissions for the 2026 academic year on Thursday. The closing date is August 29th at midnight. The department estimates that approximately 70-thousand pupils are enrolled in Grade R at Early Childhood Development sites across the province. Education MEC Matome Chiloane says so far, Grade R classrooms have been established in all primary schools, except for 54 that still lack Grade R due to space constraints:

# At least 14 people have died in floods and landslides caused by days of torrential rain in South Korea. The country’s disaster management office says there are fears the death toll could rise as emergency rescue efforts continue, with 12 people reported missing. Across the region, nearly ten-thousand people have evacuated their homes since the downpour began on Wednesday, while more than 41-thousand households have temporarily lost power. President Lee Jae-myung ordered the worst-hit areas to be declared as special disaster zones on Sunday, and the government has launched a multi-agency recovery effort.

# Motorsport: Six-time MotoGP champion, Marc Marquez, became the first Ducati rider to win five consecutive main races with victory at the Czechia Grand Prix. Aprilia Racing’s Marco Bezzecchi finished second with Pedro Acosta of Red Bull KTM Factory Racing in third. Marquez has extended his championship lead to 120 points over title rival and younger brother Alex, who crashed out during the second lap. South Africa’s Brad Binder finished ninth. Marquez says he is feeling good this season:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-70-cents and the euro at 20-rand-57-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-74-cents and Bitcoin trades at 116-thousand-972-dollar. Gold sells at three-thousand-356-dollars-83-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 68-dollars-75-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….