News 11:00

BULLETIN 15 July 11 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The return of Koeberg’s Unit 1 is delayed without a risk of load-shedding
# Solidarity scores a major victory in a police discrimination case
# And rugby: Springbok Jasper Wiese will appear before a disciplinary committee today

# Eskom says Unit 1 at the Koeberg nuclear power station in Cape Town is now scheduled to be back online by the end of August. The unit was initially expected to return to service this month. The 930-megawatt nuclear plant unit is currently offline for the second phase of a long-term operation extension. Eskom’s spokesperson, Daphne Mokwena, says the revised timeline is due to faults found during inspections and maintenance. She adds this delay will not increase the risk of load-shedding:

# Trade union Solidarity welcomes a Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration ruling that the South African Police Service was guilty of unfair labour practices. This follows after a Hawks officer in Kimberley in the Northern Cape, Ralda Breedt, was denied a promotion in favour of a less qualified candidate. Solidarity’s Theunis van Staden says Breedt will now be promoted, with backdated pay of over 660-thousand-rand from 2023 to be paid by the end of this month:

# The DA in Johannesburg says it is distressing that Jayden-Lee Meek’s mother has been accused of her son’s murder. The 11-year-old boy’s body was found bruised at his residential complex in Fleurhof, Johannesburg, in May. Thirty-one-year-old Tiffany Meek made her first court appearance yesterday. The DA’s Belinda Kayser-Echeozonjoku says the broader issue of child abuse and domestic violence continues to go unaddressed across South Africa:

Moving abroad:

# The United Nations child rights agency, UNICEF, has called for Israel to review its rules of engagement in Gaza and ensure full compliance with international humanitarian law. This comes after ten Palestinians, including seven children, were killed in an Israeli missile strike at a water collection point in Gaza on Sunday. The Israeli military said it had intended to hit an Islamic Jihad militant, but a technical error caused the missile to stray off. UNICEF has reiterated its call for an immediate and lasting ceasefire.

# Rugby: Springbok lose forward Jasper Wiese will face a disciplinary committee of World Rugby today after his straight red card during Saturday’s second Test against Italy in Gqeberha. He was sent off by Irish referee Andrew Brace for a head butt during a confrontation in the first half. The Boks nonetheless won the match 45-0. Wiese can probably expect a harsh punishment given his not-so-good disciplinary record. The foul-play review committee sent the case straight through to a full hearing, indicating the severity of the charge.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-83-cents and the euro at 20-rand-82-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-95-cents and Bitcoin trades at 117-thousand-131-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-357-dollars-96-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 68-dollars-22-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….