News 09:00

BULLETIN 12 August 9 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Sanco changes its stance on the government of national unity
# Joe Biden says he dropped out of the presidential race to prevent Trump from winning
# And the Neema Foundation for the Deaf says Miss SA, Mia le Roux’s win is historic

# The South African National Civics Organisation national executive committee has now decided to support the government of national unity. Over the past few months, Sanco together with the South African Communist Party have been critical of the ANC’s decision to form a national coalition government with the DA. The organisation’s Secretary-General, Mike Soko, says the change in its stance stems from the arrogance displayed by the EFF and MK Party during negotiations with the ANC:

# The Western Cape High Court will today hear My Vote Counts’ case over issues around the Electoral Matters Amendment Act. When the Act came into effect in May, it removed the previous limits on the 100-thousand disclosure threshold and 15-million-rand annual donation cap. This means that until the president sets new limits, political parties can receive vast amounts of money from private donors and not have to declare it. My Vote Counts says without established financial thresholds, there is an ongoing risk of unregulated and undisclosed funding.

# US president Joe Biden says he decided not to seek re-election as he feared that the intraparty battle over his candidacy would be a real distraction for Democrats. The 81-year-old announced his exit from the presidential race on the 21st of last month, which subsequently saw vice-president Kamala Harris taking over the Democratic ticket. Biden told CBS that it would be a genuine danger to American security if Donald Trump won a second term of office:

# Olympic Games: Team USA finished the Paris Games top of the medal table after the women’s basketball team beat hosts France 67-66, to win the final gold on offer. America won 126 medals consisting of 40 gold, 44 silvers, and 42 bronze. China finished second with 91 medals including 40 gold, with Great Britain, France, and Australia rounding out the top five. South Africa ended the Games with six medals, one gold medal, three silvers and two bronze. The Paralympic Games get underway on the 28th of this month.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-30-cents and the euro at 19-rand-99-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-36-cents and Bitcoin trades at 58-thousand-378-dollars-42-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-430-dollars-25-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 79-dollars-75-cents a barrel.

# And finally, the Neema Foundation for the Deaf has described Miss SA 2024 Mia le Roux’s win as historic, as it shines a spotlight on issues faced by the deaf community. The 28-year-old Free State-born model made history as the first hearing-impaired woman to win the coveted crown. She was diagnosed with profound hearing loss at the age of one. The foundation’s Fatima Cele, says the Miss SA organisation has also shown what is possible by including persons with disabilities, especially through the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing community:
 

Stay tuned for more news………….