News 13:00

BULLETIN 28 May 1 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Additional public order policing members are deployed to KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape 
# The Philippines protests China’s ban on fishing in the South China Sea 
# And cricket: Jos Buttler misses the third T20 against Pakistan due to paternity leave

# Additional public order policing members have been deployed to different parts of KwaZulu-Natal, and Mthatha in the Eastern Cape, to beef up the current law enforcement agencies’ deployments. Police have mobilised their maximum resources to combat the lawlessness in Mthatha, which includes the blocking of roads by taxi operators. Five people have been arrested. National police commissioner Fannie Masemola says 700 more public order policing members have been deployed to the two provinces:

Meanwhile, Cosatu is urging all non-essential employers to close their workplaces on election day to ensure all workers can exercise their constitutional right to vote. The second day of special votes is continuing today ahead of election day tomorrow. Cosatu’s Matthew Parks says any worker whose right to vote is threatened by their employer must report this to the police or the union federation:

# The Philippines has protested China’s four-month fishing ban in the South China Sea, calling it illegal and a violation of Philippine sovereignty. The Foreign Ministry says the ban increases regional tensions. China claims nearly the entire South China Sea, a vital trade route worth over 55-trillion-rand annually. These claims overlap with territories claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei. Philippines Defence secretary Gilberto Teodoro has labeled China’s Coast Guard rules as provocative.

# Cricket: England captain Jos Buttler won’t play in today’s third T20 against Pakistan in Cardiff, Wales. He is on paternity leave for the birth of his third child. Moeen Ali will lead the team, while Jonny Bairstow or Phil Salt will be the wicketkeeper. England won the second match after the first one was abandoned due to rain. The final encounter will be played on Thursday. The series is used as preparation for the T20 World Cup starting in the Caribbean and the US on Saturday.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-38-cents and the euro at 19-rand-98-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-48-cents and Bitcoin trades at 68-thousand-50-dollars-26-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-342-dollars-83-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 83-dollars-7-cents a barrel.

# And finally: New urban pocket forests have sprouted around Cape Town, in Langa, Mitchells Plain, the Bo-Kaap, Pinelands and Philippi. They were planted using the Japanese Miyawaki afforestation technique or cultivating fast-growing groves of native plants. The non-profit organisation Mzanzi Organics together with local primary schools has planted 800 indigenous trees and shrubs in Langa, establishing the area’s first forest. Key species in the Cape Town forests are assegai, yellowwood, milkwood, red alder and keurboom.

Stay tuned for more news………….