News 08:00

BULLETIN 27 August 8 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# RISE Mzansi welcomes the transfer of the shareholder responsibility of State Owned Enterprises
# The EFF is demanding immediate action following the rape of a girl at a crèche
# And Dirco reiterates its call for a ceasefire in Gaza

# RISE Mzansi has welcomed president Cyril Ramaphosa’s decision to assign shareholder responsibility for each of the state-owned enterprises that previously fell under the soon-to-be-defunct Department of Public Enterprises. Eskom will now fall under the Electricity and Energy minister, South African Airways and SA Express both fall under the Transport minister, and Denel with the Defence minister. RISE Mzansi’s, Makashule Gana, says they are now calling for the finalisation of the National State Enterprise Bill:

# Public Works and Infrastructure minister Dean Macpherson has revealed that around 50 major construction projects, worth billions of rands, have been halted due to construction mafias. Speaking to Newzroom Afrika, Macpherson highlighted the impact of extortion on the sector, which employs over 1.2-million people. He emphasised breaking the grip of these mafias is crucial to restoring the country’s infrastructure development:

# The EFF says it has long advocated for the opening of a national registry for sex offenders, where the names and faces of rapists who harm women and children are made public. This follows the alleged rape of a two-year-old girl at Emma’s Crèche in Sherwood, Durban, last week. The party is demanding the suspect be arrested, and the crèche thoroughly investigated. The EFF says it will not stand by while children are violated, and their pain is met with indifference by those who are meant to protect them.

# The Department of International Relations and Co-operation has reaffirmed its support for the International Criminal Court to ensure there is accountability in the Middle East. The ICC chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, has called on judges to urgently rule on his request for arrest warrants for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defence minister Yoav Gallant, and three Hamas leaders. The department’s spokesperson, Chrispin Phiri, says South Africa continues to call for a ceasefire in Gaza:

# Tennis: Defending champion Coco Gauff is through to the second round of the US Open, beating France’s Varvara Gracheva, 6-2, 6-0. The American will face German veteran Tatjana Maria next. Olympic gold medallist Zheng Qinwen of China came from a set down to beat American wild card Amanda Anisimova, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2. In the men’s draw, former champion Dominic Thiem’s Grand Slam career ended in defeat, losing, 6-4, 6-2, 6-2, to American Ben Shelton. The 30-year-old Austrian is set to retire later this year.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-71-cents and the euro at 19-rand-78-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-36-cents and Bitcoin trades at 62-thousand-832-dollars-71-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-507-dollars-75-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 81-dollars-21-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….