News 18:00

BULLETIN 7 July 6 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Julius Malema denies wrongdoing in an affidavit to the Madlanga Commission
# The DA challenges minister Dina Pule to tackle the Western Cape’s social grant delays and service failures
# And, the woman suspected of the Monaco bomb attack is found dead in Ukraine

# EFF leader Julius Malema has submitted an affidavit to the Madlanga Commission stating that his party’s funding from tobacco businessman Adriano Mazzotti was publicly declared. Malema rejected claims of a secret relationship, saying his interactions and financial arrangements with Mazzotti were already disclosed. Reading the affidavit on record, evidence leader Michael Chaskalson says Malema also denied any illegal or corrupt dealings with suspended Crime Intelligence Major-General Feroz Khan:

# The DA says ongoing South African Social Security Agency service failures continue to affect vulnerable residents in the Western Cape. The party has invited Social Development minister Dina Pule to join an oversight visit to assess ongoing service delivery problems at SASSA offices in the province. The DA’s Wendy Kaizer-Philander says beneficiaries continue to face long queues, system outages, staff shortages and delays in processing grants:

# The City of Cape Town has been found to have committed maladministration and improper conduct over its failure to provide adequate basic services to residents of Langa and Khayelitsha. Briefing the media on the report into alleged service delivery failures by the city, Public Protector Kholeka Gcaleka said the investigation confirmed years of poor sanitation, inadequate water access, unsafe housing, faulty fire safety equipment and poor waste management:

# A woman suspected of carrying out a parcel bombing in Monaco which wounded a sanctioned Ukrainian multi-millionaire and his family has been found dead in Ukraine. A cross-border manhunt had been launched for Anastasiia Berezovska, who arrived in Ukraine two days after the attack on 1 July.  Ukraine’s security service says the 39-year-old’s body was found with gunshot wounds to the head. Two people, including an intelligence officer within the Ministry of Defence, have been detained on suspicion of murder. The officer subsequently confessed to Berezovska’s murder.

# Tennis: The All England Club has issued fines worth around 739-thousand-rand to eleven players after Wimbledon’s qualifying rounds and the first week of the main draw. The fines relate to code violations for audible obscenity, racket abuse, or unsportsmanlike conduct. Frenchman Corentin Moutet received the highest fine of about 122-thousand-rand for snapping his racket over his knee and swearing during his first-round defeat to American Marcos Giron. Other players fined include Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis, Bosnian Damir Dzumhur and Gilles Arnaud Bailly of Belgium.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-26-cents against the rand and the euro at 18-rand-59-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-74-cents and Bitcoin trades at 63-thousand-13-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-161-dollars-69-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 73-dollars-52-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….