News 13:00

BULLETIN 12 June 1 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Minister Gwarube raises concern over the missing learners in the flood tragedy in the Eastern Cape
# ActionSA says Gauteng is facing an infrastructure nightmare
# And rugby: Jake White sings Leinster’s praises ahead of Saturday’s URC final

# Basic Education minister Siviwe Gwarube has expressed deep concern as four learners remain missing after a school bus was swept away at Dikolini River in the Eastern Cape. Six learners from Jumba Senior Secondary School have been confirmed dead. Speaking in the province, Gwarube also revealed that 74 schools have been damaged by the floods, calling the devastation heartbreaking for families and communities affected:

#  The Special Investigating Unit has secured a preservation order from the Special Tribunal to freeze immovable property in Limpopo linked to its investigation into the National Lotteries Commission. The freezing of portion 15 of Zandrivierspoort farm is part of the probe into the misappropriation of funds intended for the construction of old-age homes. The SIU says they are focusing on three non-profit organisations, which together received more than 66-million-rand under false pretences. The probe revealed that a defunct NPO, Matieni Community Centre, was fraudulently revived to apply for funding. 

# ActionSA in Gauteng says the administration’s neglect and mismanagement have left a lasting impact on the province’s infrastructure. The party says it is appalled that despite 35.3-billion-rand allocated for infrastructure for the last three financial years, no discernible impact has been realised. ActionSA’s Emma More says the Montrose mega project has been halted after 467-million-rand has been spent on it, while repairs to the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital are still not complete:

# Rugby: Bulls head coach Jake White has been full of praise for Leinster ahead of their United Rugby Championship final in Dublin on Saturday, saying the Irish team is years ahead of everybody else. Both teams have never won the URC trophy, with the Bulls set to make their third appearance in a final in four attempts. White says Leinster’s model is to be admired:

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-87-cents and the euro at 20-rand-66-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-26-cents and Bitcoin trades at 107-thousand-590-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-361-dollars-66-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 68-dollars-56-cents a barrel.

# And finally: A Swiss man has broken the Guinness World Record by spending more than two-hours buried in the snow. Competitive powerlifter Elias Meyer took on the challenge of the longest time spent in direct full-body contact with snow while wearing just his swimming shorts. The most recent attempt by Poland’s Valerjan Romanvoski in 2022 lasted one-hour-45-minutes-and-two-seconds. Meyer, who set a new record time of two-hours-and-seven-seconds, says the weight of the snow pressing down on him bothered him more than the cold.

Stay tuned for more news………….