News 13:00

BULLETIN 13 July 1 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The family prepares to repatriate Bibo Makwedini’s body
# The MK Party rejects security spending allegations
# And tennis: Zverev overtakes Alcaraz as the world number two while Fery climbs 78 places following Wimbledon

# The family of the late South African Under-18 rugby player Luqobo “Bibo” Makwedini is preparing to travel to France to bring his body home. The young player, who was on a three-year contract with French club Béziers, died on Saturday after suffering heatstroke following a morning training session. He was rushed to hospital but later died. A family spokesperson told SABC News they are now making arrangements to repatriate his body to South Africa.

# The National Prosecuting Authority describes alleged criminal kingpin Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala’s decision to withdraw from his plea and sentence agreement as a setback. He planned to plead guilty to corruption, money laundering, and fraud linked to a 228-million-rand contract police awarded to his company, Medicare24 Tshwane District. Matlala rejected the state’s proposed 12-year prison sentence. NPA spokesperson, Kaizer Kganyago, says he will now go on trial with the 16 other accused:

# The MK Party rejects Sunday World’s report it spent more than 336-thousand-rand on private security for secretary-general Sibonelo Nomvalo while freezing other expenditures. The party says the weekend’s allegations are false, malicious, and intended to damage its reputation ahead of the local government elections. Spokesperson Sifiso Mahlangu says the party has instructed its lawyers to demand a retraction and apology and will pursue legal action if the publication fails to comply.

# The Department of Small Business Development Connect System has captured some 400-thousand informal and micro businesses. The digital platform is aimed at assisting the department to regulate and support spaza shops while helping small businesses to access funding and form partnerships. Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development and chairperson of the inter-ministerial committee on Migration, Mmamoloko Kubayi, says an implementation plan is being finalised to increase the number of registered businesses:

# Tennis: French Open champion Alexander Zverev has moved up to number two in the world rankings following his impressive run to Wimbledon’s final. The German was defeated by top-ranked Jannik Sinner when the Italian successfully defended his title. Injured Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz has dropped down to third, while American Taylor Fritz has dropped to tenth. Australian Alex de Miñaur has reached the highest ranking of his career at number five. British wildcard Arthur Fery, who reached Wimbledon’s semifinals, has climbed 78 ranking places to world number 36.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-35-cents and the euro at 18-rand-69-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-87-cents and Bitcoin trades at 63-thousand-53-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-and-74-dollars-35-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 77-dollars-36-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….