News 11:00

BULLETIN 6 August 11 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Minister Lamola demands that Dlamini-Zuma retracts the claims she made against him regarding vote-buying
# NATO vows to deliver additional air defence systems to Ukraine
# And tennis: Zverev, Medvedev and Fritz are knocked out of the Canadian Open

# Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ronald Lamola, demands that ANC veteran Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma retract allegations linking him to vote-buying. She alleged during a podcast, African Renaissance, there was a circulation of a voice note purportedly of Lamola of vote-buying during the ANC’s 54th national conference in 2017. She accused ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula of the same thing. Lamola told the SABC it’s not in his nature to turn every political disagreement into a courtroom battle:

# The Public Servants Association is calling on the newly-appointed Public Investment Corporation board to place good governance at the centre of its mandate. The corporation, which handles more than three-trillion-rand in government employees’ pension funds, last week saw the resignation of eight board members. Meanwhile, the High Court in Pretoria found the suspension of CEO Patrick Dlamini unlawful and invalid. PSA’s Claude Naicker says the judgement raises serious concerns about the manner in which the previous board exercised its powers:

# Mpumalanga police says there is currently no indication of foul play in the deaths of two St Stithians College teenagers. The bodies of 19-year-old Ethan Coetzee and Grade 11 learner Cameron Waldeck-Cooks were discovered at a lodge in Sabie on Monday. Coetzee, who matriculated last year, was a member of the Johannesburg school’s first rugby team, and Waldeck-Cooks was a talented athlete. Spokesperson Mavela Masondo says an investigation is underway:

Moving abroad:

# NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte says they are working to get Ukraine the air defences it urgently needs. Russia launched 24 ballistic missiles in an attack on Kyiv yesterday, killing at least 17 people. Ukraine reportedly failed to shoot down a single missile. In the first half of this year, supplies of air defence missiles from Ukraine’s allies had fallen to a third of their 2025 level. Rutte says NATO allies continue to step up to ensure Ukraine has the support it needs.

# Tennis: German top seed Alexander Zverev and fourth-seeded Daniil Medvedev of Russia have been knocked out of the Canadian Open in Montreal. Zverev was ousted by Tallon Griekspoor, while another Dutchman, Botic van de Zandschulp, defeated Medvedev. Seventh-seeded American Taylor Fritz lost to Argentina’s Thiago Agustin Tirante. In the women’s draw in Toronto, American Coco Gauff defeated compatriot Kayla Day, while Alexandra Eala of the Philippines battled past American Alycia Parks.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-34-cents and the euro at 18-rand-86-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-98-cents and Bitcoin trades at 64-thousand-799-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-257-dollars-91-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 82-dollars-83-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….