News 13:00

BULLETIN 11 July 1 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The media is barred from broadcasting businessman Vusimuzi ‘Cat’ Matlala’s court case
# Tennis: Sinner says he’s 100-percent fit for this Wimbledon semifinal against Djokovic
# And FlySafair’s new route from Cape Town to Hoedspruit provides access to renowned wildlife regions

# The media has been barred from broadcasting live and may only record audio in the case of controversial tenderpreneur Vusimuzi ‘Cat’ Matlala at the Alexandra Magistrate’s Court in Gauteng. Matlala faces charges of attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder over an alleged hit on ex-partner, actress and entrepreneur, Tebogo Thobejane. His name has been linked to Police minister Senzo Mchunu and former minister Bheki Cele. Matlala remains in custody while his three co-accused, including his wife, are out on bail. The case resumes on 26 August.

# The DA says the police’s Crime Intelligence division’s chief financial official, Philani Lushaba, currently in police custody, was a substitute trustee of the Government Employees Pension Fund for two previous financial years. In this role, he allegedly pocketed at least 652-thousand-rand in trustee fees. The DA’s Andrew Bateman says this is extremely concerning given Lushaba’s recent arrest on two separate charges of corruption, in which he is alleged to have abused his position:

# Deputy minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, Andries Nel, describes the ruling in favour of South African Olympic champion, Caster Semenya as a major victory for justice, equality, and the rights of intersex athletes globally. The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights found that Semenya’s appeal against discriminatory athletics regulations had not been properly heard by the Swiss Federal Tribunal. The department’s spokesperson, Terrence Manase, says Semenya’s case has ignited global conversations around human rights:

# Tennis: World number one Jannik Sinner says he is 100-percent fit for this afternoon’s Wimbledon semifinal against seven-time champion Novak Djokovic of Serbia. The 23-year-old Italian hurt his elbow during his fourth-round match against Grigor Dimitrov on Monday, but survived when the Bulgarian had to retire through injury. Sinner showed no discomfort when he defeated American Ben Shelton in the quarterfinal. Thirty-eight-year-old Djokovic was also injured during his quarterfinal victory over Italian Flavio Cobolli.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-84-cents and the euro at 20-rand-85-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-16-cents and Bitcoin trades at 118-thousand-205-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-335-dollars-16-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 69-dollars-7-cents a barrel.

# And finally: South African low-cost airline FlySafair announced the launch of a new direct route between Cape Town and Hoedspruit in Limpopo, enhancing accessibility to the Kruger National Park. The town is surrounded by private game reserves. The new route, set to begin on the second of October, will operate three times a week. One-way flights will cost around one-thousand-570-rand. FlySaFair’s chief marketing official, Kirby Gordon, says they are proud to offer travellers a more affordable and convenient way to reach this incredible region.

Stay tuned for more news………….