News 17:00

BULLETIN 17 July 5 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The NPA is to appeal the bail for 12 SANDF murder accused
# Cricket: Patrick Moroney is appointed as the new convenor of selectors for the Proteas’ men’s team
# And famous singer Connie Francis dies aged 87

# The National Prosecuting Authority has filed a notice of appeal at the Randburg Magistrate’s Court following the decision to grant bail to 12 SANDF soldiers accused of killing Hawks investigator Frans Mathipa. The soldiers were granted ten-thousand-rand bail each. The NPA’s Phindi Mjonondwane says they await the court transcript before proceeding to apply directly to the High Court. The case has been postponed to 17 September.

# Deputy minister of Communications Mondli Gungubele says the Gauteng High Court ruling against social media giant, Meta, will protect children from sexual abuse and explicit content. The court ruled that Meta must permanently close several anonymous Instagram accounts and WhatsApp channels distributing child pornography involving South African learners. Speaking to Newzroom Afrika, Gungubele asserted that stakeholder involvement is needed as well as the implementation of strict laws against such distribution:

# Africa Expert Panel chairperson, Trevor Manuel, says urgent global action is needed to address Africa’s mounting debt crisis. Speaking to the G20 South Africa channel at a G20 Finance Track event in KwaZulu-Natal, Manuel stressed that richer northern countries must be held accountable as G20 southern nations should create a unified force behind a cause. He says the panel is developing implementable norms to push real change and financial relief:

# Cricket: Patrick Moroney has been appointed as new convenor of selectors for the Proteas’ men’s team. His previous experience include convenor of selectors for the SA National Academy, the SA Emerging and the men’s under 19 teams. Cricket South Africa says Moroney will be based at the centre of excellence in Pretoria and will work closely with Proteas’ coach Shukri Conrad. Director of national teams and high performance, Enoch Nkwe, says Moroney’s deep understanding of the game makes him the ideal candidate for the job.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-90-cents and the euro at 20-rand-75-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-98-cents and Bitcoin trades at 117-thousand-816-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-316-dollars-53-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 67-dollars-98-cents a barrel.

# And finally: Famous American singer Connie Francis has died at the age of 87. She was a major star in the 1950s and ‘60s, while one of her hits, Pretty Little Baby from 1962, became a viral hit on social media recently. She then said she didn’t even remember it, but it was truly amazing that a song she recorded 63 years ago was touching the hearts of millions of people. Francis, born Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero in New Jersey in 1937, was married four times and had one child.

Stay tuned for more news………….