News 12:00

BULLETIN 29 July 12 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The MK Party and UAT also join the Constitutional Court bid over Cyril Ramaphosa’s impeachment process
# Trump asks the Supreme Court to overturn E Jean Carroll’s defamation verdict
# And rugby: Erasmus is delighted to have players such as Kolisi and Etzebeth available for the clash with Argentina

# The MK Party and United Africans Transformation have joined the African Transformation Movement and the EFF’s direct appeal to the Constitutional Court against the Western Cape High Court granting an interdict to president Cyril Ramaphosa against the work of Parliament’s impeachment committee. The MK Party’s Andile Mngxitama told Newzroom Afrika Parliament must be allowed to determine whether grounds exist for impeachment under Section 89 of the Constitution:

# The Land and Agricultural Development Bank of South Africa says it seeks to engage clients to identify sustainable solutions aimed at its debt recovery processes and ongoing litigation involving certain agricultural borrowers. Around 150 commercial farmers and farming entities have alleged the bank lacks the legal authority to attach their assets because there are no direct loan agreements. Land Bank recognises the concerns raised and the significant impact that financial distress can have on farmers, their employees, families and rural communities.

Moving abroad:

# US president Donald Trump has asked the Supreme Court to overturn the 1.39-billion-rand jury verdict for defamation in favour of magazine columnist E Jean Carroll. The case relates to statements Trump made while president in 2019, denying Carroll’s claim that he sexually assaulted her in a New York department store dressing room in the mid-1990s. His lawyers argue the defamation verdict should be overturned because, as president, he is immune from litigation.

# Rugby: Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus says almost his entire squad is fit and available for next weekend’s one-off Test against Argentina in Buenos Aires. Ox Nché and Franco Mostert have been ruled out, but players such as captain Siya Kolisi, Eben Etzebeth, Lood de Jager, and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu are back from injury. Twenty-six Boks will travel to Argentina this Saturday. Erasmus says the focus now is entirely on Los Pumas:

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-72-cents and the euro at 19-rand-5-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-24-cents and Bitcoin trades at 64-thousand-239-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-and-38-dollars-95-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 89-dollars-34-cents a barrel.

# And finally: SANParks has planted one-thousand dune spinach shrubs at the Boulders penguin colony in Cape Town as part of an ongoing habitat rehabilitation initiative. SANParks spokesperson JP Louw says the seeds were collected from Boulders and germinated at the Cape of Good Hope nursery before being replanted at the colony. He says the shrub is an indigenous coastal plant found along South Africa’s coastline:

Stay tuned for more news………….