News 12:00

BULLETIN 7 July 12 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The IFP is shocked at allegations against Police minister Senzo Mchunu
# Unit 4 at Medupi power station is back online ahead of schedule
# And rugby: A strong Australia-New Zealand invitational squad is to face the British and Irish Lions

# The IFP has expressed shock and concern at the wide-ranging allegations made by KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi. He has accused Police minister Senzo Mchunu of collusion and interference in high-profile investigations. Mkhwanazi also claims the disbandment of the political killings task team was an attempt to derail key investigations. The IFP says Mchunu should be placed on special leave, and president Cyril Ramaphosa must immediately appoint an Independent Commission of Inquiry to investigate these allegations.

Meanwhile, national police commissioner Fannie Masemola is expected to provide updates on ongoing policing operations to prevent and combat crime this week. He will also announce an acting divisional commissioner for Crime Intelligence. National spokesperson Athlenda Mathe says citizens can be assured that daily crime combatting operations and normal day-to-day policing at stations and other service points continue uninterrupted:

# Eskom says Unit 4 at Medupi power station in Limpopo is back online, eight months before schedule. The unit had been out of service since 8 August 2021 when it sustained significant damage in an explosion. Eskom’s spokesperson, Daphne Mokwena, says the unit is adding 800-megawatts to the grid as part of its strategic objective to deliver two-thousand-500-megawatts of generation capacity:

# Rugby: Coach Les Kiss has named a strong Australia-New Zealand invitational squad to face the British and Irish Lions in Adelaide on Saturday. The squad includes 18 internationals with a combined 300 caps. They include All Blacks David Havili, Shannon Frizell and Hoskins Sotutu, with the Australian contingent led by Marika Koroibete, Pete Samu and Lukhan Salakaia-Loto. Kiss says a lot of work has gone on behind the scenes to build this squad, and it’s exciting to see it come together.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-78-cents and the euro at 20-rand-88-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-17-cents and Bitcoin trades at 108-thousand-935-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-309-dollars-57-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 67-dollars-62-cents a barrel.

# And finally: Today is World Chocolate Day, a perfect day to indulge in the rich, creamy goodness of the delicacy. Chocolates have a diverse history that traces back to over five-thousand-300 years ago, when the Mayo-Chinchipe culture first domesticated cocoa beans in Ecuador. Many of the best-loved chocolate bars, including Cadbury’s Flake, Milky Way, KitKat, Aero and Smarties, were all invented during a golden age of cocoa-based creativity in the 1920s and ’30s. A fun fact is that it takes two to four days to make a single-serving chocolate bar.

Stay tuned for more news………….