News 09:00

BULLETIN 7 July 9 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The MK Party demands the repatriation of all foreign prisoners
# MISA welcomes the recall of vehicles but urges a stronger focus on road safety
# And, over a thousand were arrested in Interpol’s global human trafficking operation

# The MK Party is calling on government to immediately begin repatriating foreign national prisoners, saying the country is spending about 4.2-billion-rand annually to keep them in correctional facilities. As of last month, South Africa’s prisons held 27-thousand-880 foreign nationals, including 13-thousand-266 sentenced inmates and 14-thousand-614 awaiting trial detainees. The MK Party says awaiting trial foreign nationals account for nearly half of the total cost, estimated at 2.2-billion-rand annually. It says this is money that should be used to expand social grants, create jobs and strengthen healthcare and education.

# The Road Freight Association says it is not convinced that the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences Amendment Act will change the current behaviour of road users. The implementation of phase two of AARTO commenced last Wednesday. The purpose of the Act includes promoting quality, safety and discipline, facilitating the adjudication of road traffic infringements, and implementing a points demerit system. RFA CEO, Gavin Kelly, says he does not see how issuing points to vehicles will change the behaviour of people:

# The Motor Industry Staff Association says the latest recall of certain Jaguar Land Rover vehicles highlights the importance of putting road safety first. The recall follows concerns about an engine defect that could cause oil leaks and pose a danger to other road users, especially motorcyclists. MISA spokesperson Phakamile Hlubi-Majola has urged employers to provide technicians with the training, resources and support needed to carry out recall repairs safely and effectively:

# A coordinated international crackdown on human trafficking has led to the identification of two-thousand-and-70 victims, the arrest of one-thousand-and-24 suspects, and the launch of 465 investigations. Operation Global Chain, coordinated by Interpol, brought together law enforcement from 59 countries across Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Europe in June. It targeted trafficking networks involved in sexual exploitation, forced labour, criminality, and coerced begging. Interpol says it found an emerging trend of Latin American victims being trafficked for forced labour in Europe, with about ten-percent of identified victims being minors.

# Tennis: World number 114 Arthur Fery stunned Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov, 7-5, 3-6, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6, at Wimbledon to become the first British wild card to reach the quarterfinals at a Grand Slam in the Open Era. Fery will face Italian Flavio Cobolli, who ousted Australia’s Alex de Minaur, 7-5, 7-6, 6-3. American Taylor Fritz defeated Kazakhstani Alexander Bublik, 7-6, 6-4, 6-4. In the women’s draw, Italian Jasmine Paolini beat Alexandra Eala of the Philippines, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, while Czech Linda Nosková knocked out American Madison Keys, 6-4, 7-6, to make the quarterfinals.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-23-cents and the euro at 18-rand-56-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-73-cents, and Bitcoin trades at 63-thousand-151-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-133-dollars-66-cents a fine ounce, and Brent crude oil is quoted at 72-dollars-53-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….