News 07:00

BULLETIN 2 July 7 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Action Society demands clear and measurable goals for the new ministers in the war against crime
# Spain joins South Africa’s case against Israel at the International Court of Justice
# And rugby: The Springbok’s assistant coach expects a physical battle against Ireland

# Action Society calls for clear goals and strict performance indicators for new ministers in the fight against crime. They demand integration among ministers to protect vulnerable groups. The Correctional Services minister Pieter Groenewald is urged to tighten parole monitoring to prevent repeat offences. The organisation’s Juanita du Preez has expressed concerns over corruption within the police force and advocates for decentralising policing power to provinces to enhance responsiveness:

# The South African Communist Party says it endorses a national dialogue aimed at comprehensive mobilisation and transformation. This initiative seeks to address key national challenges through broad-based engagement, to ensure unity among progressive forces. Briefing the media on the central committee outcomes, SACP general secretary Solly Mapaila says they aim to empower the working class through inclusive governance and policies focused on job creation, poverty reduction, and equality.

# The Labour Court has dismissed the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa’s bid to set aside the reinstatement of axed CEO Zolani Matthews. He was fired in 2021 for holding dual citizenship, which the state-owned entity said was a material breach that he did not disclose. Months after Matthews was fired, the arbitrator, retired judge Robert Nugent, ruled that Prasa should reinstate him with back pay. Prasa ignored this ruling and instead applied for a stay of the arbitration award. The court says Matthews’ fixed contract remains extant.

# Delays in laboratory test processing across Gauteng’s public health facilities have ensued following a security breach at the National Health Laboratory Services. The breach compromised its IT systems, impacting service delivery and causing longer wait times for test results. Priority is given to critical tests such as blood chemistry and urgent infection screenings. Department of Health spokesperson Motalatale Modiba assures the public of efforts to swiftly resolve the issue:

# Spain has become the latest country to join South Africa’s case against Israel at the International Court of Justice. South Africa filed its case late last year, alleging Israel was breaching the Genocide Convention in its military assault in Gaza. The offensive has destroyed large parts of Gaza, killed thousands of civilians, and led to massive displacements of the population. In its filing to the court, Spain stated that the Genocide Convention is a crucial instrument in international law for the prevention and punishment of genocide.

# Rugby: Springbok assistant coach Tony Brown expects a physical and intense battle against Ireland at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on Saturday. Ireland has not played in South Africa since 2016 when they won their first-ever local Test against the Boks. The match against Ireland will be the Boks’ second Test of the season, after defeating Wales 41-13 at Twickenham in London just over a week ago. Brown says they are wary of the threat Ireland poses:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-39-cents and the euro at 19-rand-74-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-25-cents and Bitcoin trades at 62-thousand-900-dollars-21-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-332-dollars-11-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 86-dollars-80-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….