News 17:00

BULLETIN 31 August 5 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Minister Chikunga says the new national council on gender-based violence must turn commitments into action
# Municipalities face possible Eskom power cuts
# And tennis: Venus Williams falls at the first hurdle in the US Open

# The minister of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, Sindisiwe Chikunga, has urged the national council on gender-based violence and femicide to turn government commitments into action. Following the council’s inaugural meeting, Chikunga told the media, the council’s work must ensure laws and commitments translate into real protection for women and girls, survivors receive support and perpetrators are held accountable:

Meanwhile, the Motor Industry Staff Association says the government is losing this war. Eleven-thousand-532 sexual offences, including more than nine-thousand rapes, were recorded in just three months. MISA’s Phakamile Hlubi-Majola calls for properly staffed and resourced specialised police units to investigate crimes against women and children. Hlubi-Majola says perpetrators must be arrested, prosecuted and convicted:

# Fourteen municipalities risk electricity supply interruptions from Eskom if they fail to conclude distribution agreements by tomorrow. The National Treasury says none of the municipalities has signed a Distribution Agency Agreement with Eskom. The municipalities owe Eskom substantial amounts, with total municipal debt reaching 119-billion-rand. The agreements would see Eskom temporarily take over electricity distribution and collect payments directly from consumers. The arrangements remain controversial, with concerns over their legality. Treasury is considering a request to extend the deadline.

#  Nepal’s rescue teams, helped by Chinese and Indian experts, stepped up efforts today to ​reach hundreds of people believed to be stuck inside blocked hydropower project tunnels in the aftermath of the floods. It killed more than 900 people and nearly five-thousand are stil missing, carving a trail of destruction in ‌the country’s valley towns and villages. Rescue teams are trying to reach the 933 workers believed to be trapped at 11 hydropower projects, including many who were working in about half a dozen tunnels, in the two hard-hit districts of Rasuwa and ​Nuwakot.

# Tennis: Venus Williams has bowed out of the US Open in the first round, beaten by American compatriot Sofia Kenin. The 46-year-old has not won a major singles match since reaching the second round at Wimbledon in 2021. Since then, she has appeared in six Grand Slam singles tournaments and exited in the opening round each time. The seven-time Grand Slam singles champion and former world number one will continue her US Open campaign when she joins her sister Serena in the women’s doubles.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-15-cents against the rand and the euro at 18-rand-72-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-86-cents and Bitcoin trades at 78-thousand-26-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-437-dollars-11-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 92-dollars-80-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….