News 16:00

BULLETIN 10 June 4 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# South Africa’s manufacturing output slumped by 6.3-percent in April
# The DA demands the full Auditor-General report on the licence card tender scandal
# And rugby: Croke Park is expected to be only half-full for the Bulls’ URC final against Leinster

# Statistics South Africa says manufacturing production fell by 6.3-percent in April compared to the same time last year. The biggest declines were recorded in the food and beverages sector, motor vehicles, and steel and metal products. However, production rose slightly by 1.9-percent from March to April. Stats SA’s Nicolai Claassen says production and sales have been declining over the past three months, showing ongoing challenges in the sector:

# The DA demands the immediate release of the Auditor-General’s report into the failed driver’s licence card tender. This follows repeated breakdowns of South Africa’s only licence card printing machine, leaving a backlog of over 730-thousand cards. The DA’s Chris Hunsinger says costs for new smart card equipment ballooned from 486-million-rand to 898-million-rand in a deal flagged as irregular. Hunsinger accused the government of hiding behind broken machines and broken promises.

# The South African National Taxi Council has praised emergency services after they rescued three learners from trees in the Eastern Cape. This occurred after their school transport bus was swept away by floodwaters at the Efata Bridge near Mthatha. SANTACO’s national spokesperson, Mmatshikhidi Phala, says the bus was en route to Jumba Senior Secondary School:

# Austrian police say at least eight people died when a shooter opened fire in a school in Graz in the southeastern part of the country. The suspected attacker also died. Public broadcaster ORF reports the school was evacuated afterwards. Several people were seriously injured, including learners and teachers. In February, a stabbing left a teenager dead while five other people were injured in southern Austria, with a 23-year-old Syrian asylum seeker held.

# Rugby: The Bulls could possibly benefit from the moving of this weekend’s final of the United Rugby Championship from Leinster’s home ground, the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland. The game will be played at soccer stadium Croke Park because Aviva isn’t available. It is expected Croke, with a capacity of over 82-thousand, will only be half-full. Sales are currently better than for Leinster’s quarterfinal and semifinal, but would likely not come close to the 47-thousand fans that packed Loftus Versfeld for last weekend’s semifinal against the Sharks.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-67-cents and the euro at 20-rand-20-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-88-cents and Bitcoin trades at 109-thousand-502-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-339-dollars-79-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 67-dollars-16-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….