News 14:00

BULLETIN 18 June 2 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Proteas are to get cash incentives after their historic ICC Test victory
# Inflation was steady at 2.8-percent in May as food prices continued to climb
# And the animosity between Israel and Iran escalates

# We start with good cricket news: Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture, Gayton McKenzie, says talks are underway to award the Proteas men’s team cash incentives after their historic World Test Championship victory over Australia. The Proteas triumphed by five wickets at Lord’s in London, ending a 27-year title drought. McKenzie was among the thousands of people welcoming the champions home at the OR Tambo International Airport in Gauteng this morning. He praised their character and pledged confidence in hosting and winning the 2027 championship:

# Statistics South Africa says inflation remained unchanged at 2.8-percent last month, despite rising food prices. The biggest driver was a 1.1-percent monthly increase in the prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages. Beef prices continued to climb due to a foot-and-mouth disease outbreak, with beef steak up 4.5-percent in May. Stats SA’s Patrick Kelly says maize meal and vegetables saw notable increases, with beetroot up 64-percent year-on-year:

# South Africa’s healthcare sector is facing a rise in cyber threats. This was highlighted by a ransomware attack on the National Health Laboratory Service. Speaking to Moneyweb, legal expert Safia Mahomed said urgent reforms are needed, including stronger governance, ethical artificial intelligence regulation, and better infrastructure. Healthcare accounted for 32-percent of national data breaches between 2015 and 2022, while cyberattacks rose 30-percent in 2023 across African health institutions.

# Israel says it struck a nuclear site near Tehran today, while Iran says it fired hypersonic missiles as the arch foes traded fire for a sixth day. Hours after US president Donald Trump demanded Iran’s surrender, supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed his country would show no mercy towards Israel’s leadership. Trump insists the United States has played no part in ally Israel’s bombing campaign, but also warned his patience was wearing thin. The long-range blitz began on Friday when Israel launched a massive bombing campaign.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-9-cents and the euro at 20-rand-82-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-35-cents and Bitcoin trades at 104-thousand-574-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-376-dollars-21-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 75-dollars-2-cents a barrel

# And finally: Today is International Picnic Day, a chance to pack a picnic basket and eat out in the open air with friends or family. Although there are no records about the exact origin of this day, it is believed to date back to the end of the French Revolution and the Victorian Era. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the world’s largest picnic was held in Lisbon, Portugal, on June 20th, 2009, where over 22-thousand people attended.

Stay tuned for more news………….