News 13:00

BULLETIN 22 August 1 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The ANC’s mayoral candidates will be announced in September
# A Hawks officer says gang violence in Wentworth fell sharply after the death of a KZN taxi boss
# And, TikTok has to pay 6.4-billion-rand to settle claims for the violation children’s online privacy laws

# ANC second deputy secretary-general Nomvula Mokonyane says the party will not announce individual mayoral candidates, but will only unveil full teams of candidates contesting municipal positions. Successful candidates will be announced in September. Mokonyane says the process reflects the ANC’s renewal agenda, with increased representation of women, young people, persons with disabilities and the LGBTQI community. She says the national leadership managed the selection process, using set criteria, to avoid internal disputes:

# KwaZulu-Natal Hawks officer Deena Govender told the Madlanga Commission that gang-related shootings in Wentworth dropped to virtually zero following the deaths of taxi boss and tow-truck businessman Bevan Loftus and members of his gang. Govender said Loftus was a person of significant interest during investigations into shootings and killings in the area. He attributed the reduction to the disruption of the gang, saying statistics and evidence support his claim:

# Eskom says its turnaround is gaining momentum, with the energy availability factor reaching 72.56-percent for the past week and 67.79-percent year-to-date, its highest level since 2020. Eskom spokesperson Daphne Mokwena says unplanned outages have fallen by 39.2-percent year-on-year. Seven provinces have also been removed from the load-reduction schedule, benefiting about 1.2-million customers. She says South Africa has now gone 462 consecutive days without load-shedding:

# The DA in North West says acting Tswaing municipal manager, Cyril Lesang Lobakeng, should be suspended while corruption allegations against him are investigated. The party argues this would prevent possible interference with evidence. The DA’s Kagiso Mangwejane says Tswaing needs accountable leadership focused on basic services such as water, sanitation and roads. Mangwejane says serious allegations against senior officials must be properly investigated and dealt with through due process.

# The US Department of Justice announced that TikTok and China’s ByteDance have agreed to pay 6.4-billion-rand to settle claims that the social media platform violated U.S. children’s online privacy laws. The agency sued TikTok in 2024, alleging that it violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act by collecting and retaining data from its young users without notifying parents or obtaining their consent. The lawsuit, which stemmed from a Federal Trade Commission investigation, claimed that TikTok had knowingly permitted children to create accounts and interact with adults on the platform since 2019.

# And soccer: Defending champions Arsenal made the perfect start to their Premier League title defence with a stylish 3-0 win against Coventry in the opening game of the season yesterday. Mikel Arteta’s side brushed aside promoted Coventry in emphatic fashion at the Emirates Stadium. Kai Havertz struck early in the first half and Bukayo Saka doubled the lead before Martin Odegaard netted after the interval to complete Arsenal’s masterclass. Other major clashes this aftenroon include Manchester United against Hull City, and Brentford against Tottenham Hotspurs.

Stay tuned for more news………….