News 12:00

BULLETIN 22 June 12 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Ramaphosa says Africa needs to be part of writing the global rules on fighting pandemics
# GOOD calls on the IEC to review the safety of candidates following the murder of a DA ward candidate in Cape Town
# And the bulk of Iran’s preconditions are met, with sanctions on oil waived and some frozen assets released

# President Cyril Ramaphosa says the Covid-19 pandemic and the recent outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda serve as a reminder that South Africa and Africa as a whole must be better prepared for health emergencies. More than 100-thousand South Africans died from the pandemic, and around two-million jobs were lost. The Ebola death toll has surpassed 200. In his weekly newsletter, Ramaphosa says Africa cannot keep depending on international partners for help during a health emergency, emphasising countries need stronger health systems.

# Acting national police commissioner, Puleng Dimpane, says plans are in place to maintain law and order amid growing tensions over immigration. Anti-immigration campaigns and calls for undocumented foreign nationals to leave the country by June 30th have gained momentum. Acting minister of Police, Firoz Cachalia, met with management over the weekend, where he received briefings on operational plans to ensure demonstrations take place safely and peacefully. Dimpane says unlawful activities will not be tolerated:

# The GOOD Party says an assassination tied to voter registration is an attack on the electoral process itself, and on every resident’s right to participate freely and without fear. DA ward by-election candidate in Dunoon, Cape Town, Sinovuyo Dyokwe, was murdered on Saturday. GOOD’s Jonathan Cupido says the Electoral Commission, the metro, and the police must urgently review the safety of candidates, party workers, and registration staff ahead of November’s local government elections:

Moving abroad:

# Iran’s Foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, says sanctions on his country’s oil have been waived by the US, and some of its assets frozen abroad have been released. This follows talks between Washington and Tehran in Switzerland over the weekend. Mediators Qatar and Pakistan say with the bulk of its preconditions met, Iran will now permit some talks to take place on the future of its domestic uranium enrichment. Araghchi says the most difficult issue remains the future of the Lebanese crisis.

# Cricket: Captain Ben Stokes and fast bowler Gus Atkinson have been included in England’s squad for the series-deciding third Test against New Zealand, starting at Trent Bridge on Thursday. They were not picked for the second Test at the Oval which England lost by 253 runs, following an incident in a London nightclub earlier this month. An investigation by the England and Wales Cricket Board cleared Stokes and Atkinson of violent conduct, but they were found to have breached specific contractual obligations. They have been given a written warning.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-46-cents and the euro at 18-rand-84-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-73-cents and Bitcoin trades at 64-thousand-133-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-190-dollars-8-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 79-dollars-8-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….