News 13:00
BULLETIN 21 June 1 pm
Good afternoon. I am……..
In this bulletin:
# President Ramaphosa says the warrants for two senior police officials are being debated
# The IEC says young people make up the majority of online registration applications
# And a newspaper reports the UK prime minister is ready to quit
# ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa says the warrants of arrest for senior police officials, Dumisani Khumalo and Nosipho Madondo, is currently being debated in government. On Thursday, the National Prosecuting Authority’s Investigating Directorate Against Corruption issued warrants for Khumalo and Madondo. However, the warrants were withdrawn as they are both involved in preparations for a national security operation linked to immigration matters scheduled for June 30. While speaking during the ANC’s voter registration drive in KwaThema, Ekurhuleni, Ramaphosa says law enforcement agencies should be allowed to do their work:
# The Electoral Commission has confirmed that young people and first-time voters make up the overwhelming majority of online registration applications this weekend. The IEC’s Masego Shiburi says by midday yesterday, over 330-thousand voter registration applications were processed. Around 300-thousand transactions were processed on the voter management devices at voting stations while 30-thousand were applications on the online platform. Shiburi says that KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, and the Eastern Cape recorded the highest applications:
# Activists and Citizens Forum says the decision of Parliament speaker, Thoko Didiza, to file a notice to abide by the Western Cape High Court’s decision on president Cyril Ramaphosa’s bid to interdict the process of Parliament’s Impeachment Committee, must be condemned and rejected. Forum spokesperson, Dennis Bloem, says a few days ago, the majority of the parties on the Impeachment Committee agreed to oppose the President’s bid to interdict the process:
# KwaZulu-Natal premier, Thamsanqa Ntuli, has strongly condemned the brutal murder of a Malawian foreign national and the assault of two other individuals following a suspected xenophobic attack in the JikaJoe Informal Settlement in Pietermaritzburg on Friday. Government spokesperson, Lindelani Mbatha, says protesters were marching against foreign nationals in the area. Following the conclusion of the march, a group reportedly broke away and proceeded to the Jika Joe Informal Settlement, where a Malawian foreign national was killed and two others seriously injured.
# Britain’s Observer newspaper said prime minister Keir Starmer was expected to resign on Monday and set out a timetable for his departure, though a government source said Starmer remained focused on getting on with the job of governing. The threat to Starmer’s position, which has been building for months, increased sharply on Friday when his rival Andy Burnham won a seat in parliament that would allow him to launch a formal leadership challenge. The British leader said on Friday he would fight any challenge to his leadership and urged Labour not to tear itself apart with infighting.
# Rugby: Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus on Saturday evening named a 46-man squad featuring six uncapped players and 12 returning Bulls players for the inaugural Nations Championship, which kicks off against England in Johannesburg on Saturday, 4 July. The squad includes 28 forwards and 18 backline players, with Paul de Villiers, Riley Norton, Ruben van Heerden, Carlu Sadie, Vusi Moyo, and Jaco Williams the uncapped players in the mostly experienced group.
The match against England will be followed by clashes against Scotland in Pretoria on 11 July and Wales in Durban on 18 July, before the Boks travel to Buenos Aires to play a one-off test against Los Pumas on 8 August. The squad will arrive in Johannesburg today to resume their training camp.
Stay tuned for more news………….