News 12:00

BULLETIN 24 July 12 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The auction of three opulent Gupta mansions begins in Saxonwold
# The Activists and Citizens Forum says corruption is worse under Ramaphosa’s administration
# And China is deeply concerned over the deadly clashes between Thailand and Cambodia

# Three lavish multi-million-rand Saxonwold mansions linked to the Gupta family are being auctioned off in Johannesburg today. The properties, linked to the state capture scandal, are expected to fetch below their combined municipal value of 64-million-rand. Park Village Auctions is handling the sale, aimed to recover funds and settle debts after the Atul, Ajay and Rajesh Gupta-linked firm, Confident Concept, entered bankruptcy in 2018. Deposits for the auction ranged from 250- to 500-thousand-rand. Furniture and appliances will be sold separately after each property auction.

# The Activists and Citizens Forum says corruption in South Africa is far worse now under president Cyril Ramaphosa’s administration than it was under Jacob Zuma. Of the 180 countries ranked by Transparency International’s index on levels of public sector corruption, South Africa is in the bottom 90. The forum’s spokesperson, Dennis Bloem, says corruption is completely out of control at all levels of government, with officials stealing taxpayers’ money regularly with little consequences:

# The Interpol National Central Bureau in Pretoria arrested a 57-year-old Chinese fugitive, who is reportedly linked to a case of fraud reported in his homeland. His arrest follows a red notice issued to all member countries to locate and provisionally apprehend the Chinese national. Police spokesperson, Amanda van Wyk, says they will continue to dismantle transnational crime syndicates and arrest international fugitives in the country:

News from abroad:

# China says it is deeply concerned over deadly clashes between Cambodia and Thailand, which mark a dramatic escalation of a long-running border row between the two neighbours. The bitter spat is over an area known as the Emerald Triangle, where the borders of both countries and Laos meet and which is home to several ancient temples. The squabble has dragged on for decades, flaring up again in May, when a Cambodian soldier was killed. Today, Cambodia fired rockets and artillery shells into Thailand, and the Thai military carried out air strikes.

On to sports news:

# The US Olympic and Paralympic Committee has decided to bar transgender women from competing in women’s sports following an executive order by president Donald Trump. Officials told national governing bodies they will need to follow suit since they have an obligation to comply with federal expectations. The committee says the revised policy emphasises the importance of ensuring fair and safe competition environments for women. The National Women’s Law Centre condemned the decision, saying the committee is sacrificing its own athletes’ needs.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-60-cents and the euro at 20-rand-70-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-85-cents and Bitcoin trades at 118-thousand-765-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-373-dollars-27-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 68-dollars-30-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….