News 13:00

BULLETIN 7 August 1 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# An oil spillage closes a busy interchange in Gauteng
# South Africa’s power grid needs to connect over five gigawatt of renewables for the next 25 years
# And, Olympic Games: Several South Africans are in action in Paris today

# Motorists are advised of an oil spillage on the N1 North after the Diepkloof Interchange in Soweto, Gauteng. Xolani Fihla of the Johannesburg Metro Police says all lanes are closed, and traffic is being diverted onto the Rand Show Road exit. He warns motorists to expect significant delays:

# South Africa’s power grid needs to be expanded to connect more than five gigawatts of renewables a year for the next 25 years. This is according to energy and infrastructure economics advisory firm Meridian Economics’ managing director, Grové Steyn. He says South Africa requires private investment and capacity to complement the investments being undertaken by the National Transmission Company South Africa. Steyn adds that a dedicated procurement unit established along the lines of the Independent Power Producer Office is also needed.

# The GOOD Party has appointed RISE Mzansi’s Axolile Notywala to fill a councillor vacancy for the party in the Cape Town City Council. He previously served as the national coordinator for the Right2Know Campaign and as the general secretary of the Social Justice Coalition. He also stood as the Western Cape premier candidate for RISE Mzansi. GOOD’s secretary-general, Brett Herron, says Notywala shares the party’s priorities around social, spatial, environmental, and economic justice:

 
# Olympic Games: Several South Africans are in action in Paris today. Brian Raats takes part in the qualification round of the men’s high jump, and Marione Fourie in the heats of the women’s 100-metre hurdles. Jo-Ané van Dyk will try to qualify for the final of the women’s javelin throw, Edmund du Plessis is running in the heats of the men’s 800-metre, and Miranda Coetzee in the semifinal of the women’s 400-metre. Shaun Maswanganyi and Wayde van Niekerk will compete in the semifinal of the men’s 200-metre.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-34-cents and the euro at 20-rand-2-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-29-cents and Bitcoin trades at 57-thousand-388-dollars-81-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-395-dollars-41-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 76-dollars-67-cents a barrel.

# And finally, the father and son duo, Eugene and Dan Levy, are reportedly in talks to host the 76th Emmy Awards at the Peacock Theatre in Los Angeles on the 15th of next month. They have presented together at awards ceremonies before, including the 2020 SAG Awards, and once guest-hosted the Ellen Show. The Levy’s are best known for creating the award-winning comedy series Schitt’s Creek, which earned 15 Emmy nods for its final season in 2020. FX’s Shogun leads this year’s Emmy nominations with a record-setting total of 25.

Stay tuned for more news………….