News 09:00

BULLETIN 16 July 9 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The police intensify their measures against illegal immigration
# SAFTU welcomes the decision to grant an appeal in the Omotoso case
# And, the US House of Representatives rejects an amendment to abolish billions in aid to Israel

# Police arrested eight-thousand-896 immigrants nationwide in the past 14 days for contravening the Immigration Act, as it continues to sharpen its focus on immigration enforcement. Some of these individuals are also facing additional charges involving serious and violent crime, including murder, rape, and possession of an unlicensed firearm. In Gauteng alone, more than 800 undocumented foreign nationals were arrested. Police spokesperson, Amanda van Wyk, says government is committed to dealing decisively with illegal immigration and related offences across the country:

# The South African Federation of Trade Unions has welcomed the Supreme Court of Appeal’s decision to grant the National Prosecuting Authority leave to appeal the acquittal of self-proclaimed Nigerian pastor Timothy Omotoso and his co-accused. In May last year, Omotoso was declared an undesirable person in South Africa and banned for five years. This followed his acquittal on multiple counts of sexual assault and human trafficking. Saftu’s Asive Dyani says this decision is among the most encouraging developments the criminal justice system has seen in recent months:

# Widespread veld fires triggered power outages across the central and eastern suburbs of Johannesburg and Midrand yesterday. The veld fires resulted in the tripping of a major substation in the eastern parts of Johannesburg, after flames spread beneath high-voltage power lines, affecting electricity supply across the eastern corridor of the metro. City Power spokesperson, Isaac Mangena, says while restoration of power to some areas has happened, others are dependent on safety assessments and damage inspections:

# The US House of Representatives overwhelmingly rejected an amendment to a State Department spending bill that would have blocked American military aid to Israel. More than 100 Democrats supported the measure, compared with just 37 who backed a similar proposal two years ago. The amendment, introduced by Republican Thomas Massie, would have eliminated around 54.08-billion-rand in annual US assistance to Israel, much of which would have gone to the country’s military. Opponents argued that the measure would have hampered Israel’s ability to combat terrorist organisations, including Hamas and Hezbollah.

# Tennis: Seven-time Grand Slam champion Carlos Alcaraz is targeting a return at the Cincinnati Open next month after being named in the entry list. The Spaniard has not competed since April, when he suffered a wrist injury in the first round of the Barcelona Open. The injury forced him to withdraw from tournaments in Madrid and Rome, and he also missed Roland Garros and Wimbledon. Alcaraz won the Cincinnati Open last year, a tournament in which he holds a 12–4 win-loss record.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-34-cents and the euro at 18-rand-72-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-10-cents, and Bitcoin trades at 64-thousand-602-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-33-dollars-65-cents a fine ounce, and Brent crude oil is quoted at 83-dollars-77-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….