News 08:00

BULLETIN 28 July 8 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The MK Party believes Andrea Johnson is being shielded from accountability
# Donald Trump says the US halted strikes on Iran after a request for renewed peace talks
# And Team SA score two more medals at the Commonwealth Games

# The MK Party has criticised president Cyril Ramaphosa’s “swift acceptance” of Advocate Andrea Johnson’s resignation as the head of the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption. The president accepted her resignation following recommendations from minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, Mmamoloko Kubayi, and National Director of Public Prosecutions Advocate Andy Mothibi. MK Party’s Mzwanele Manyi told Newzroom Afrika that Johnson’s resignation should not prevent allegations about her fitness for office from being formally investigated:

# The SA Canegrowers has appealed to minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Parks Tau, to finalise the sugar import tariff mechanism to reflect current local sugar market realities. New data reveals that 94-thousand-984 tons of sugar were imported between January and May, compared to 55-thousand-213 tons during the same period last year. The International Trade Administration Commission is evaluating whether the existing sugar tariffs adequately reflect the competitive landscape. The SA Canegrowers says every tonne of locally produced sugar displaced by an import is a direct hit to a grower’s income.

# AfriForum says Gauteng could face another school placement crisis for grade one and grade eight learners next year, because the online admissions system is opening too late. The organisation says more than 400-thousand learners will need to be placed within a short period. AfriForum’s Carien Bloem says the late opening of the online system and growing pressure on school capacity could lead to delays in placing learners:

# US president Donald Trump says he decided to pause strikes on Iran because the countries mediating between them had asked him to give the talks another chance. The pause follows nearly two weeks of daily US strikes and retaliatory attacks by Tehran. Iran has denied that any direct negotiations are taking place. Trump has warned that they will resume strikes if the two sides fail to reach a new ceasefire deal. However, he has expressed optimism for an end to the war:

# Commonwealth Games: South Africa claimed two more medals in the pool on Monday to take the country’s overall tally to eleven. Michael Houlie won silver in the men’s 50-metres breaststroke in 26.77-seconds, with Australia’s Sam Williamson claiming gold and England’s Adam Peaty-Ramsay bronze. Erin Gallagher, who is participating in her last Games, won the bronze medal in the women’s 100-metres butterfly in 57.39-seconds. In wheelchair basketball, the SA men’s team beat Malaysia 13-10, and could qualify for the semifinals if Scotland beat Wales in the final pool match.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-77-cents and the euro at 19-rand-8-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-31-cents, and Bitcoin trades at 63-thousand-256-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-49-dollars-66-cents a fine ounce, and Brent crude oil is quoted at 89-dollars-73-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….