News 12:00

BULLETIN 2 August 12 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Defence minister awaits full report on Libyan military training allegations
# Americans freed from Russian prisons are back on US soil
# And, rugby: The Bok assistant coach says the extra few days in Australia will be invaluable

# Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, Angie Motshekga says she is awaiting a full report on the alleged military training of 95 Libyans in Mpumalanga. The Libyans who have since been detained, claim they were training as security guards. Speaking at the ANC national executive council’s meeting, the minister told eNCA a report will follow once investigations are complete:

# The Airlines Association of South Africa says infrastructure failures at airports are causing costly delays and safety risks. Most recently flights at Cape Town International Airport had to be delayed or diverted following a power outage. The delays and diversions came after the Air Traffic Navigation Service indefinitely suspended instrument-navigation flight approaches to nine of the country’s airports. The association’s CEO, Aaron Munetsi, says any modern country that aspires to have a growing, sophisticated and competitive economy, treats aviation as a central pillar in economic planning and strategy.

# Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, former US Marine Paul Whelan, and journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, are back on US soil after being were part of a multi-national prisoner exchange between the US, Russia and four other countries. The three were welcomed at Joint Airbase Andrews in Maryland by US president Joe Biden and vice president Kamala Harris. Sixteen people were released from Russian custody, while eight Russian prisoners were released from the US, Germany, Norway, Slovenia and Poland. Harris says this was a huge diplomatic effort:

# Rugby: Springbok assistant coach Mzwandile Stick says facing the Wallabies in Australia is always a big challenge, therefore having a few extra days to adapt to the conditions will be invaluable. The Boks arrived in Australia yesterday and will kick off this year’s Rugby Championship in Brisbane next week Saturday, before their second clash against the Wallabies in Perth on the 17th of this month. Stick says they have a good base to build from going into the Championship.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-19-cents and the euro at 19-rand-66-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-15-cents and Bitcoin trades at 64-thousand-13-dollars-39-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-462-dollars-57-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 80-dollars-19-cents a barrel.

# And finally, Universal Pictures has won the rights to Grammy Award winner Britney Spears‘ bestselling memoir, The Woman in Me. The book released in October last year has sold over 2.5-million copies in the US alone. In the book, Spears chronicles her journey from pop superstardom through to her highly publicised conservatorship case, and her complicated relationship with her family and ex-boyfriend Justin Timberlake. Wicked director Jon M Chu and producer Marc Platt are reportedly set to develop the biopic.

Stay tuned for more news………….