News 09:00

BULLETIN 8 September 9 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Parliament is concerned about the governance crisis at the Nuclear Energy Corporation
# The DA says a Cyber Commissioner is needed to protect South Africans against AI banking scams 
# And skywatchers in Africa, Europe, Asia and Australia enjoyed a rare total lunar eclipse

# Parliament’s portfolio committee on Electricity and Energy has expressed concern regarding the allegations surrounding the governance crisis at the Nuclear Energy Corporation of South Africa. The company is without a functioning board after five board members resigned last week. The development comes after the board failed to get ministerial support to suspend the corporation’s CEO, Loyiso Tyabashe, who has been accused of alleged mismanagement of public funds. The committee says minister of Electricity and Energy, Kgosientsho Ramakgopa, will have to appear before it and account for this crisis.

# The DA is calling on government to establish a Cyber Commissioner as artificial intelligence-driven scams and digital banking fraud are increasing. According to the South African Banking Risk Information Centre, the number of digital banking fraud cases doubled between 2023 and 2024, with financial losses increasing from one-billion-rand to 1.4-billion-rand. The DA’s Glynnis Breytenbach says South Africans deserve safer digital spaces and stronger protection against cybercrime:

# The Campaign to Scrap the Labour Law Amendment Bills says it rejects Employment and Labour minister, Nomakhosazana Meth’s promulgation of the new Code of Good Practice on Dismissal. The campaign’s spokesperson, Patrick Mlaba, says the new code fundamentally shifts the balance of power in favour of employers. He says the power and control of employers over labour is strengthened. He adds that the hiring and firing of workers will become much easier for employers:

# Motorsport: Red Bull’s Max Verstappen converted pole position into victory at the Italian Grand Prix, to claim his first win since May. McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri finished second and third respectively, with Charles Leclerc in fourth for Ferrari and Mercedes’ George Russell rounding out the top five. Norris has cut Piastri’s driver championship title lead to 31 points with eight races to go. Verstappen says the car was much better to drive than in previous races:

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-60-cents and the euro at 20-rand-61-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-75-cents and Bitcoin trades at 111-thousand-53-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-582-dollars-33-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 66-dollars-14-cents a barrel.

# And finally, skywatchers in parts of the world, including South Africa, got to see a rare total lunar eclipse, commonly called a Blood Moon, on Sunday evening. This 82-minute spectacle, one of the longest in a decade, occurred when the Earth positioned itself precisely between the moon and the sun, casting its shadow on the moon’s surface. NASA says the lunar eclipse was visible in Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia. Many took to social media to share pictures of the lunar eclipse, where the moon appeared orange or reddish.

Stay tuned for more news………….