News 07:00

BULLETIN 19 June 7 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# NATJOINTS is ready to police the presidential inauguration at  the Union Buildings
# The PAC decides to participate in the government of national unity
# And a ballistics expert challenges the evidence in the Malema firearm case

# The National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure says it is ready to deal with any lawlessness at the Union Building in Pretoria where president Cyril Ramaphosa will today be sworn in as the head of the state. Police spokesperson, Athlenda Mathe says no disruptions and unbecoming behaviour will be tolerated:

Meanwhile, the PAC says it has decided it will be part of the government of national unity. The PAC’s Secretary General, Apa Pooe says this strategic decision is driven by the party’s commitment to influence policy positions from within the government. Pooe says the decision is rooted in the belief the PAC can effectively steer the country away from right-leaning tendencies and protect the gains achieved thus far:

# There is no evidence to suggest a link between a cartridge found at the venue of the EFF’s fifth anniversary celebrations in Mdantsane in 2018 and a firearm taken in as an exhibit. Testifying for the defence, ballistics expert JC de Klerk, said there was no match between the cartridge and the examined firearm. Charges against EFF leader Julius Malema and bodyguard, Adriaan Snyman emanate from a viral video of Malema firing what appeared to be a rifle in front of a large crowd of people. The trial continues today.

# The Financial Sector Conduct Authority is running a campaign warning young South Africans about the dangers of gambling. Head of Consumer Education, Lyndwill Clarke, says gambling can lead to addiction and severe financial losses. Clarke says that the betting industry’s revenue surged from 8.8-billion-rand in 2019/20 to 23.7-billion-rand in 2022/23, amid rising unemployment and living costs. He urges awareness and regulation to prevent financial instability, mental health issues, and academic decline among the youth.

# Rugby: New Zealand’s most capped player Sam Whitelock will captain the Barbarians in his final game when they play Fiji in London on Saturday. The match will be played after the Springboks faced Wales at the same venue. The 35-year-old lock made the last of his 153 All Blacks appearances in October’s Rugby World Cup final loss and then joined French club Pau for the season. Whitelock is joined in the side by players like England stars Jonny May, Ben Youngs, and Kyle Sinckler as well as France centre Gael Fickou.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-3-cents and the euro at 19-rand-37-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-92-cents and Bitcoin trades at 65-thousand-245-dollars-72-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-330-dollars-84-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 85-dollars-25-cents a barrel.

# And finally: Paris Fashion Week kicked off yesterday with hip-hop mogul Pharrell Williams putting on his latest branding event for Louis Vuitton at the headquarters of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, a symbol of international diplomacy. Williams took over the historic Pont Neuf bridge for his lavish debut as creative director a year ago. Under the theme of “The World is Yours”, a teaser on Instagram featured children as diplomats being encouraged to work for a more unified world, with Vuitton-branded briefcases, naturally.

Stay tuned for more news………….