News 17:00

BULLETIN 20 July 5 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Andy Burnham is appointed as 0000000000000000000000000prime minister by King Charles
# Matlala and his co-accused plead not guilty to charges
# And soccer: Argentina’s coach admits Spain deserved to win the World Cup

# Andy Burnham is the new British prime minister after being invited to form a government by King Charles at Buckingham Palace. Burnham accepted the request after Keir Starmer formally resigned this morning. Burnham became Labour leader on Friday and is the fifth British prime minister in four years. He delivered his first official address outside 10 Downing Street:

# Controverisal businessman Vusimusi “Cat” Matlala and his co-accused have individually pleaded note guilty in the High Court in Johannesburg. They face 25 charges, including eleven of attempted murder linked to alleged attacks on media personality Tebogo Thobejane, businessman Joe Sibanyoni and DJ Vettys between 2022 and 2024. Judge Cassim Moosa ruled the trial will commence today and will continue until September:

# Kopanang Africa Against Xenophobia welcomes the Department of Basic Education’s directive prohibiting vigilantism and violence in and around schools. The organisation says the circular reaffirms every child’s right to education, regardless of nationality or documentation status. It urges provincial education departments, schools, and communities to ensure the directive is fully implemented. They also call on the public to reject vigilantism, saying immigration enforcement is the responsibility of the state and must be carried out within the law.

# Limpopo premier, Phophi Ramathuba says the provincial government will continue working closely with law enforcement agencies and all road safety stakeholders to strengthen efforts aimed at reducing road fatalities. This follows a deadly weekend on the provincial roads, where two separate accidents claimed the lives of 14 people while six others were injured. Limpopo government spokesperson, Thilivhali Muavha, says investigations are underway to determine the cause of both accidents:

# Soccer: Argentina’s coach, Lionel Scaloni, admits Spain deserved to win the World Cup. The defending champion’s heart was broken when Ferran Torres scored the final’s only goal in extra time in New Jersey last night. This followed Enzo Fernandez’s red card in stoppage time. Scaloni says Spain was definitely the better team, saying his players must accept defeat with the same grace they had shown when celebrating recent successes. Spain’s dominance was proved when its players won the Golden Ball, Golden Glove and Best Young Player awards.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-49-cents against the rand and the euro at 18-rand-82-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-18-cents and Bitcoin trades at 64-thousand-649-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-10-dollars-6-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 86-dollars-29-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….