News 14:00

BULLETIN 13 June 2 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# An Eastern Cape school principal lays charges against Malema and Mbalula over false rape allegations
# The African Union expresses grave concern after Israel strikes nuclear targets in Iran
# And equestrian sports: The Australian Olympian Heath Ryan is suspended for whipping a horse

# The principal of Bergview College in the Eastern Cape, Jaco Pieterse, is laying crimen injuria charges against EFF leader Julius Malema, ANC secretary general Fikile Mbalula, and MEC for Education Fundile Gade for falsely accusing him of raping a learner, Cwecwe. Pieterse demands accountability, saying the false claims brought threats and personal harm. AfriForum’s Barry Bateman says police found no evidence of rape and they will pursue criminal charges against those responsible:

# National police commissioner Fannie Masemola has announced that before the end of this month, police will be advertising the recruitment of five-thousand-500 police trainees to join its ranks. He says their training will commence between January and February next year. Masemola says they have increased the age limit to join the police to 35 in line with the National Youth Policy:

# The African Union expressed grave concern after Israel struck some 100 targets in Iran, including Tehran’s nuclear and military sites. AU chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf calls for the immediate cessation of hostilities and urges all parties to exercise maximum restraint. He points out that the current developments pose a serious threat to international peace and security. Russia also condemned and expressed concern over what it calls a sharp escalation between Israel and Iran. The head of the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, Rafael Grossi, says nuclear facilities must never be attacked.

# Equestrian sports: Australian Olympian Heath Ryan has been suspended after he was caught on video whipping a horse around 40 times. The 66-year-old says the incident happened two years ago and was part of a rescue mission in rehabilitating a problem horse. Ryan says everything he did was sincerely in the horse’s best interests. Governing body Equestrian Australian says it is extremely alarmed and concerned by the treatment of the horse in the video. It adds that it takes matters of animal welfare very seriously.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-98-cents and the euro at 20-rand-71-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-35-cents and Bitcoin trades at 104-thousand-720-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-417-dollars-86-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 74-dollars-48-cents a barrel.

 # And finally: Nominations are open for the Defender Awards, spotlighting South Africa’s grassroots changemakers. Categories include wildlife, community, land, and ocean defenders. Launched by iconic brand Defender, the initiative offers over two-million-rand, a vehicle, and expert support to one standout local organisation. The trio of Ross Holgate of the Kingsley Holgate Foundation, Ivy Wairimu from Tusk, and Springbok legend Bryan Habana will join an international panel of experts to help select the finalists. Entries close on Monday.

Stay tuned for more news………….