News 12:00

BULLETIN 25 June 12 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Navy’s submarines are out of action
# TLU SA says foot-and-mouth disease is out of control in South Africa
# And Iran executes three men accused of spying for Israel

# South Africa’s naval defences are reportedly in crisis, with key frigates and submarines out of action, exposing critical trade routes to potential threats. A News24 investigation has revealed that most of the Navy’s fleet, meant to protect shipping lanes and territorial waters, is non-operational due to maintenance delays and budget constraints. Experts warn this weakens South Africa’s ability to secure its coastline, leaving vital ports and maritime trade vulnerable. The Navy’s declining capacity raises major national security and economic concerns.

# The agriculture organisation TLU SA says foot-and-mouth disease in the country is out of control, and government must activate its capacity to control the outbreaks. The organisation says although vaccination has commenced in some provinces, new cases are being reported at some farms. TLU SA’s Bennie Van Zyl says it is essential that stringent biosecurity measures are implemented at affected farms:

# Union GIWUSA says the loss of 74-thousand jobs in the first quarter of this year exposes the utter bankruptcy of the government of national unity’s neoliberal agenda. Industries such as trade, community services and mining took the hardest knock. Fifty-two-thousand jobs were lost in the trade industry, accounting for 70-percent of job losses. GIWUSA president, Mametlwe Sebei, says this is a deepening crisis that requires urgent intervention:

Moving abroad:

# Iran has executed three men accused of collaborating with Israel. The men were convicted of working with Israel’s Mossad spy agency and smuggling equipment into the country to carry out assassinations. The executions took place in Urmia, a northwestern city near the border with Turkey. Iran also arrested 700 people accused of having ties with Israel during the 12-day conflict with Israel, and seized ten-thousand drones. This comes as the ceasefire between Israel and Iran seems to be holding.

# Rugby: Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus has praised tighthead prop Asenathi Ntlabakanye’s dedication, which has led to him getting his first national call-up. The 26-year-old is one of four uncapped players included in the Bok squad to face the Barbarians in Cape Town on Saturday. Ntlabakanye’s transformation included intensive sessions at scrum coach Daan Human’s Bloemfontein farm, where conditioning took precedence alongside technical scrum work. Erasmus says Ntlabakanye’s commitment has yielded dramatic physical changes:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-74-cents and the euro at 20-rand-57-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-15-cents and Bitcoin trades at 106-thousand-585-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-327-dollars-30-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 66-dollars-87-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….