This week has been a big news week, with our two top newsmakers President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Boris Johnson in seriously hot water. A complaint was filed over a call President Trump made to the Ukrainian President, and Prime Minister Johnson was found to have lied to the Queen. The week brought into question the leadership of both individuals and discussions surrounding their resignations.
Global News
- President Trump released a memo that recounts his call with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. The call reveals that the President encouraged a leader of a country dependent on US government aid to help aid him in smearing his 2020 presidential contender Joe Biden.
- The three things that were concerning about this call was that the President attempted to: enlist a foreign government’s aid in his re-election; use his personal lawyer to sidestep diplomatic channels; and to get the top law enforcement officer in America, William Barr, to aid in his campaign. These are all grounds for impeachment.
- The whistle-blower’s complaint about President Trump’s call has been declassified and released, follow this link for the full transcription.
- The UK Supreme Court unanimously ruled that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s five-week suspension of Parliament was unlawful. UK Lawmakers are therefore heading back to work.
- Prime Minister Johnson has faced heavy criticism over the matter, including calls for him to resign. But, considering his rather boisterous manner, he instead dared opposition MPs to schedule a vote of no-confidence. Should this succeed, a general election would automatically be triggered. This is widely seen as Johnson’s alternative play towards scheduling an election, possibly after he forces Britain out of the EU.
- The Israeli President, Reuven Rivlin, has given his Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu four weeks to come up with a government. This is after Netanyahu and Benny Gantz couldn’t agree on a coalition following the election for Prime Minister, which did not produce a clear winner. Rivlin urged Netanyahu and all potential coalition allies to come to an agreement, saying the country “does not want more elections.”
Local News
- On Wednesday, the central bank released data that showed that South Africa had inflows of R26.3bn in Foreign Direct Investment in the second quarter of the year. This is more than what was seen in the first quarter as domestic firms received debt and equity funding from foreign parent companies.
- Eskom has shortlisted three candidates for a chief executive officer to lead the loss-making utility out of its debt crisis, according to three people familiar with the process.
- Peter Moyo, the former Old Mutual CEO, is threatening legal action against Old Mutual’s entire board of directors. For the full story, follow this link.
- The labour court in Braamfontein stopped a banking strike that was going to take place today because correct procedures were not followed to ensure it was protected. The strike would have been the biggest banking sector strike in 99 years. The Banking union Sasbo is an affiliate of the trade union federation Cosatu and wants to protest retrenchments in the banking sector.
- Follow this link for a fascinating article written by Alec Hogg from BizNews, where he investigates the alleged true motives behind Angelo Agrizzi’s whistleblowing on Bosasa.
