News 15:00

BULLETIN 29 July 3 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Electricity minister highlights a new distribution challenge amid the power crisis
# PSiRA hopes the illegal military training camp investigations will be completed this week
# And, Olympic Games: A veteran British broadcaster has been axed for his alleged sexist remark about the Australian gold medallists

# Electricity and Energy minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa says South Africa faces a new challenge in electricity distribution. Updating the media on the country’s power crisis, Ramokgopa stressed the urgent need to address the tariff pricing framework as many communities struggle with increased tariffs. He says this issue undermines the National Development Plan for universal access, a priority for his ministry:

# The Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority says it acknowledges the ongoing interest and inquiries regarding the recent alleged illegal military training activities at a farm in White River, Mpumalanga, provided by Milites Dei Security Services. PSiRA’s spokesperson, Mpho Sechoaro, says the regulatory body is unable to grant interviews due to the ongoing investigations. Sechoaro says PSiRA hopes these investigations will be completed by the end of the week:

# AgriSA urges the swift enactment of the Preservation and Development of Agricultural Land Bill. They argue that South Africa’s agricultural land, crucial for the economy, job creation, and food security, is rapidly diminishing due to urbanisation and mining. The organisation believes the bill will prevent land fragmentation and ensure sustainable farming practices. AgriSA calls for immediate legislative action to protect this non-renewable resource and ensure the long-term viability of the agricultural sector, which is vital for national development and food security. 

# Olympic Games: Eurosport has removed veteran British commentator Bob Ballard from its coverage for making what was seen as a sexist remark about Australian female swimmers after winning gold in Paris. He referred to how long it takes for women to get ready when the members of the four-by-100-metre freestyle team were making their way out of the aquatics centre, celebrating and waving to the crowd. Ballard laughed when his co-commentator, Lizzie Simmonds, called his comment outrageous, while the clip went viral on social media.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-36-cents and the euro at 19-rand-89-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-59-cents and Bitcoin trades at 69-thousand-714-dollars-28-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-391-dollars-55-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 79-dollars-83-cents a barrel.

# And finally, the Marvel Studios movie Deadpool & Wolverine starring Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman collected over eight-billion-rand globally in its opening weekend. This makes it the sixth-highest grossing of the year. So far, over 13.6-million people have bought tickets to see the movie, on par with last year’s blockbuster Barbie. Twisters starring Glen Powell has dropped down to second in the box office followed by Universal and Illumination’s Despicable Me 4.

Stay tuned for more news………….