Nuus 09:00

BULLETIN 26 January 9 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# ActionSA formally lodges a complaint to the Human Rights Commission against WesBank
# The wind is hampering efforts to contain a serious fire near Kluitjieskraal in the Western Cape
# And, Alabama carries out the first known American execution using nitrogen gas

# ActionSA says it has officially lodged a formal complaint with the South African Human Rights Commission to investigate Wesbank. The is over allegations that the finance provider is using a specific system to overcharge black clients. Wesbank has refuted allegations of discrimination against customers based on race, gender, or age. ActionSA’s spokesperson, Lerato Ngobeni, says they cannot condone nor tolerate the covert racism the bank represents:

# The Special Investigating Unit has launched a probe into allegations that certain Transnet National Ports Authority managers flouted procurement processes. The ports authority CEO Pepi Silinga, has been accused of irregularly appointing his former employer, the Coega Development Corporation, to build fences around the ports of Durban, Richards Bay and Saldanha Bay. The costs have reportedly escalated from around 80-million-rand to about 300-million-rand. Transnet has appointed an independent law firm to undertake an in-depth investigation into the allegations.

# A change in wind direction is hampering efforts to control the Kluitjieskraal fire near Wolseley in the Cape Winelands District Municipality, Western Cape. The fire in the Suurvlakte area split into two lines, one line on the Wolseley side of the Obiqua Mountain and another on the Wellington side. The municipality’s spokesperson, Jo-Anne Otto, says the fire on Wolseley’s side in the Verrekyker area just above the Kluitjieskraal moved rapidly toward agricultural land containing a variety of structures, including formal and informal homes:

# Alabama has carried out the first-ever execution by nitrogen gas in the US, killing Kenneth Smith. The 58-year-old, who was sentenced to death for his role in a 1988 murder for hire, had survived the state’s initial attempt to execute him by lethal injection in 2022. The Supreme Court denied Smith’s last-minute appeal to halt the execution. Alabama and two other US states have approved the use of nitrogen hypoxia as an alternative method of execution. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights says Smith’s killing in this manner amounts to torture.

# Motorsport: Charles Leclerc has signed a contract extension with Ferrari to remain with the team beyond this Formula One season, however, the length of the new contract is not confirmed. He joined the Scuderia as an academy driver back in 2016 and made his F1 debut with Sauber in 2018. Since joining Ferrari’s F1 team in 2019, Leclerc has taken 23 pole positions and five wins. His teammate Carlos Sainz remains in talks over a new deal, with the Spaniard’s current contract set to run out at the end of this year.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-85-cents and the euro at 20-rand-45-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-96-cents and Bitcoin trades at 40-thousand-76-dollars-93-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-21-dollars-61-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 81-dollars-50-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….