News 18:00

BULLETIN 26 May 6 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Minister Macpherson confirms government’s commitment to infrastructure-led economic growth
# Salman Rushdie is pleased with the maximum sentence for a man who left him blind in one eye
# And rugby: Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Hanekom and Louw are all nominated as South Africa’s URC Player of the Season

# Public Works minister Dean Macpherson has reaffirmed government’s commitment to infrastructure-driven economic recovery at the 2025 Sustainable Infrastructure Development Symposium in Cape Town. He announced over 200 funded projects in the latest Construction Book, as well as plans to release 31 public properties for investment, targeting 165-thousand job opportunities. Macpherson stressed that infrastructure must serve the public good and economic justice:

# Children’s rights activist Siyabonga Nzimande says cultural practices must never override children’s rights. This follows KwaZulu-Natal Health MEC Nomagugu Simelane’s report revealing seven-thousand-627 teenage pregnancies in eThekwini between April last year and last month. This included 154 girls aged ten to 14. Nzimande warned of the risk of abuse, HIV, and unsafe childbirth. Speaking to Newzroom Afrika, she called for urgent community talks and reporting of statutory rape cases:

# The City of Cape Town has officially opened applications for seasonal lifeguard positions. Applicants have to meet a set of criteria, including lifeguarding and First Aid qualifications, criminal and substance use checks, an interview, where applicable, and they have to successfully complete a swim and rescue test. Mayoral committee member for Community Services and Health, Francine Higham, says applications close on June 9th:

# Famous author Salman Rushdie is pleased with the maximum 25-year jail sentence handed to a man who tried to kill him with a knife at a New York cultural centre in 2022. Hadi Matar was earlier convicted of attempted murder and assault. Video footage played during the trial showed Matar rushing onto stage and plunging a knife into Rushdie which left him blind in one eye. Last year, Rushdie published a memoir recounting the near-death experience called “Knife”, in which he has an imagined conversation with Matar.

# Rugby: Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu of the Stormers and the Bulls duo of Cameron Hanekom and Wilco Louw were rewarded for their consistent good form during the season by grabbing the three nominations for the South African United Rugby Championship Player of the Season Award. Voting closed on Friday with the coaching teams of the Springboks and the four South African franchises, as well as members of the media, casting their votes for players from the four local URC teams. The winner will be announced on 5 June, as part of the annual URC Awards.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-87-cents and the euro at 20-rand-33-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-23-cents and Bitcoin trades at 109-thousand-752-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-338-dollars-14-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 63-dollars-96-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….