News 08:00

BULLETIN 5 July 8 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# John Steenhuisen never asked to be part of the National Dialogue
# The UN nuclear inspectors leave Iran
# And rugby: The Junior Boks beat England in the Under-20 Championship

# DA leader John Steenhuisen says he never requested to join the Inter-Ministerial Committee on the National Dialogue as appointed by president Cyril Ramaphosa. Addressing the media, Steenhuisen, who is expected to attend as Agriculture minister, says he only learnt of his appointment hours before the first meeting. He has accused the ANC of excluding other parties and warned that the dialogue lacks transparency, calling it a political smokescreen:

# Employment and Labour Deputy Minister Jomo Sibiya says undervaluing labour inspectors undermines job creation and the protection of workers’ rights. Speaking during the department’s budget vote in Parliament, Sibiya revealed that over 310-thousand inspections were conducted in the past financial year, resulting in more than 78-million-rand being recovered for underpaid workers. He urged stronger oversight to ensure decent work and fair pay:

# AfriForum says government plans to revise the 1998 White Paper on Local Government will be meaningless unless corruption in municipalities is tackled head-on. The organisation’s Deidré Steffens says the discussion document mentions reform 47 times,  but barely refers to corruption. Steffens calls for strict action against wrongdoing, regular lifestyle audits, and less political interference in council work to help restore proper services and public trust:

# UN nuclear watchdog inspectors left Iran yesterday after the Islamic Republic officially suspended its cooperation. The suspension came after last month’s 12-day conflict between Iran and Israel, which saw unprecedented Israeli and US strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities and escalated tensions between Tehran and the International Atomic Energy Agency. Iran officially suspended its cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog on Wednesday.

# And finally sports news:

# Tennis: Australian Open champion Madison Keys became the latest star to crash out of Wimbledon as the American sixth seed was stunned by Laura Siegemund. Keys slumped to a 6-3, 6-3 loss against the German world number 104. The 30-year-old Keys is the fifth member of the top six seeds in the women’s event to suffer a surprise exit from this year’s tournament. Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula, Jasmine Paolini, and Zheng Qinwen had already bowed out, though world number one Aryna Sabalenka is still in the tournament.

# And rugby: The Junior Springboks overturned an early 14-point deficit to claim a bonus-point win against the defending champions England at the World Rugby Under 20 Championship in Rovigo. Last night’s 32-22 victory took South Africa to the top of Pool A with 10 points. England are second on five points, along with third-placed Australia, who beat Scotland 34-24 earlier in the day. The final round of pool matches takes place on Wednesday, with the Junior Boks up against Scotland and England taking on Australia.

Stay tuned for more news………….