News 18:00

BULLETIN 19 June 6 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Cosatu welcomes the application for the Post Office to exit from business rescue
# Pietermaritzburg grinds to a partial halt amid protest action
# And rugby, the Barbarians coach says they are ready to face the Springboks

# Union federation Cosatu says the South African Post Office can be fixed and, once again, contribute to stimulating economic growth and creating jobs with competent management. The Joint Business Rescue Practitioners of the SAPO have launched an application in the High Court of Pretoria to end business rescue proceedings. Cosatu’s Matthew Parks says the absence of dedicated and fit-for-purpose leadership has been at the centre of the Post Office’s painful decline:

# More than 500 supporters of the March and March movement gathered in Pietermaritzburg, in KwaZulu-Natal, calling for undocumented foreign nationals to leave South Africa ahead of a self-imposed 30 June deadline. According to News24 the anti-illegal migration group wants similar repatriation processes for nationals from other countries, following recent returns of Malawian nationals from Durban. Heavy police and private security were deployed as the march moved through the city. Organisers say the campaign is part of a wider push for stricter immigration enforcement.

# Tshwane mayor Nasiphi Moya says the administration is committed to strengthening oversight, accelerating delivery and ensuring that infrastructure investments achieve their intended impact for residents. She conducted an oversight inspection of strategic roads and transport infrastructure projects yesterday. These included the Integrated Rapid Public Transport Network Line 3 corridor and the WF Nkomo Street road resurfacing project. Moya says the renewed focus on township infrastructure demonstrates the metro’s commitment to improving access, opportunity and service delivery:

# Rugby: Barbarians coach Scott Robertson says facing the world champion Springboks on home soil is a special opportunity for his invitational side. They will clash in Gqeberha tomorrow as South Africa kicks off its season. The former All Blacks coach has assembled a match-day squad featuring 23 players from 12 different nations, including TJ Perenara, Virimi Vakatawa, and Miracle Fai’ilagi. Robertson says the quality and diversity of his squad is something special:

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-48-cents against the rand and the euro at 18-rand-88-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-78-cents and Bitcoin trades at 63-thousand-156-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-157-dollars-40-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 79-dollars-36-cents a barrel.

# And finally, Iran plans to file an official complaint with word governing body FIFA over America’s travel restrictions on the team during the World Cup. The co-hosts denied Iran’s request to travel from their Mexican base to Los Angeles two days before Sunday’s group match against Belgium. The US informed the country the players would only be allowed one day before matches, and must leave directly afterwards. The Iranian governing body says this adversely affects their preparation.

Stay tuned for more news………….