News 15:00

BULLETIN 29 August 3 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The DA challenges motions of no confidence against Tshwane’s mayor in court
# Three people are killed when a typhoon hit Japan
# And, cricket: Former allrounder Jacob Oram has been appointed as New Zealand’s new bowling coach

# The DA has launched an urgent challenge in the Gauteng High Court to declare two motions of no confidence against Tshwane mayor Cilliers Brink unlawful. The party argues the motions, along with the speaker’s approval, are unconstitutional. The FF Plus and the IFP have since announced their commitment to the DA-led coalition in Tshwane, but ActionSA’s stance is still unclear. Meanwhile, the ANC in council requested a caucus meeting with their legal team after receiving the court papers.

# State prosecutor Billy Downer has urged the High Court in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal, to proceed with the scheduled arms deal trial dates, despite former president Jacob Zuma’s ongoing efforts to have him removed as prosecutor. Zuma’s legal team has recently sought to appeal Judge Nkosinathi Chili’s refusal to remove Downer and demanded reasons for the judge’s decision. Downer argued that the trial should go ahead as planned from April next year: 

# The Mpumalanga Education Department is inspecting 71 schools to assess the progress of the 18-million-rand pit toilet eradication project. Despite the Basic Education Department’s pledge to eradicate these latrines by next year, progress has lagged. MEC for Education Cathrine Dlamini emphasised to the SABC that it’s a human rights issue, with plans to eliminate pit toilets by the end of this financial year:

# At least three people have been killed after a typhoon hit southern Japan, sparking fears of flooding, landslides and extensive damage to buildings. Another person is missing, and more than a dozen are injured after Typhoon Shanshan hit the southern island of Kyshu and ripped through several regions. Authorities have issued evacuation orders to millions of residents due to torrential rain and strong winds of up to 180 kilometres per hour. Shanshan is the latest harsh weather system to hit Japan. Typhoon Ampil led to blackouts and evacuations earlier this month.

# Cricket: Former New Zealand allrounder Jacob Oram has been appointed the country’s bowling coach from the beginning of October. He replaces Shane Jurgensen, who left after last year’s one-day World Cup. Forty-six-year-old Oram played 33 Tests, 160 ODIs and 36 T20s for the Black Caps over 11 years, scoring four-thousand-688 runs and taking a total of 252 wickets. He says it means a lot to be back with the team that has been a big part of his life, describing his appointment as an honour.

# And, the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-62-cents and the euro at 19-rand-62-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-33-cents and Bitcoin trades at 59-thousand-789-dollars-20-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-522-dollars-46-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 77-dollars-70-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….