News 13:00

BULLETIN 31 July 1 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Andrea Johnson is still under criminal investigation
# Social Development warns South Africans about increasing human trafficking through fake job scams
# And cricket: Stephen Fleming is appointed as England’s new Test coach, with Joe Root returning as captain

# The National Director of Public Prosecutions, Andy Mothibi, says the former head of the Investigating Directorate against Corruption, Andrea Johnson, remains under criminal investigation despite her resignation last week while testifying before the Madlanga commission. Among the allegations is that she improperly shared the contents of an assault docket involving suspended deputy head of Crime Intelligence, Fazel Khan, with him. Mothibi says a resignation does not shield anyone from criminal accountability:

# President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed seven members of the National Council on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide for a three-year period. The statutory body is mandated to provide strategic leadership on the elimination of the scourge. Ramalepe Mathibe has been appointed as chairperson. Ramaphosa’s spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, says the council has also been tasked with the implementation of the national strategy addressing GBVF at national, provincial and local levels:

# The Department of Social Development is urging South Africans, particularly young people, to be vigilant against fake online job offers used by human traffickers. An increasing number of young citizens have been trafficked to scam compounds in Myanmar after accepting apparent legitimate job offers in Thailand. Spokesperson Sandy Godlwana says victims are taken across the border to Myanmar and forced to participate in cyber-enabled financial crimes under abusive conditions:

# Amnesty International says India continues to supply arms to Israel, despite the substantial risk they could be used in the ongoing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. Its investigators analysed two-thousand-596 shipments of weapons, ammunition, parts and components shipped from India to Israel since 7 October 2023. Indian companies have supplied at least 390-thousad-516 small arms parts for military-grade weapons, and 564-thousand-970 parts of explosive ordnance, including drone warheads. Amnesty International’s Agnès Callamard says India has failed to regulate arms exports to Israel in line with international law.

# Cricket: Former New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming has been appointed as the England men’s Test head coach. The 53-year-old succeeds his former international teammate Brendon McCullum, who was sacked earlier this month, but remains coach of the limited-overs sides. Joe Root has been reappointed as Test captain, a position he held from 2017 to 2022 before being replaced by Ben Stokes, who has retired. Fleming’s first Test in charge will be England’s tour of South Africa in December and January, comprising three Tests.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-52-cents and the euro at 19-rand-2-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-23-cents and Bitcoin trades at 63-thousand-638-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-and-51-dollars-66-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 90-dollars-98-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….