News 14:00

BULLETIN 2 June 2 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Taxi violence claims four lives in Nyanga
# Cosatu urges further fuel levy relief to cushion workers and the economy
# And soccer: Indian fans can now watch World Cup matches following an agreement between FIFA and Zee

# Four people have been shot dead in what Cape Town police believe is a taxi-related attack in Nyanga. Unknown gunmen opened fire on a group of men. Two others were critically injured. Police spokesperson André Traut says detectives are following leads, and a manhunt has been launched. He says they deployed additional resources to the area amid ongoing taxi-related violence in Nyanga.

# The chief magistrate of Kwaggafontein in Mpumalanga, Tuletu Tonjeni, has retired days after a complaint was lodged to the Magistrate’s Commission over her decision to strike the case against taxi boss Joe Sibanyoni and his co-accused off the roll. She dismissed the extortion and money laundering matter last month after the prosecutor failed to appear. Legal sources say Tonjeni’s retirement means the commission cannot pursue disciplinary action. The National Prosecuting Authority has re-enrolled the case in Delmas, with proceedings set to continue in September.

# Cosatu has urged government to provide further fuel levy relief to cushion embattled workers amid the Middle Eastern conflict. Petrol prices will rise by a further one-rand-43-cents a litre at midnight, while diesel prices will fall by as much as three-rand-23-cents a litre. The general fuel levy relief has been reduced. Cosatu’s Matthew Parks says the petrol price hike is yet another painful blow that millions of struggling workers cannot afford:

Moving abroad:

# The United Nations says the escalation of hostilities in Lebanon underscores the need for a diplomatic solution to end the cycle of violence. Israel and Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah have continued attacks despite accepting a US plan to halt hostilities. Since March, three-thousand-412 people have been killed and more than ten-thousand injured in strikes in Lebanon. UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric says they will continue to push for peace:

# Soccer: Fans in one of the world’s largest markets will be able to watch World Cup matches following an agreement between India’s Zee Entertainment and world governing body FIFA. This ended a months-long standoff. Financial terms were not disclosed, but FIFA reportedly wanted 1.6-billion-rand for the Indian packages for this year and the next tournament in Morocco, Spain and Portugal before slashing the price to 975-million-rand. Reuters reports the deal gives Zee a toehold in India’s broadcast market.  

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-20-cents and the euro at 18-rand-86-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-82-cents and Bitcoin trades at 69-thousand-464-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-527-dollars-46-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 93-dollars-33-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….