News 14:00

BULLETIN 25 June 2 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Minister Barbara Creecy says the Treasury Infrastructure Fund is key to Transnet’s freight targets
# China issues a rare admission that torture and unlawful detention takes place in its justice system
# And Cape Town is monitoring for any impacts from the inclement weather

# Transport minister Barbara Creecy says Treasury’s Budget Facility for Infrastructure is key to Transnet’s rail and port upgrades. It is aimed at a 250-million-ton annual freight target by 2030. Private sector buy-in may take two years, but 160 responses signal strong interest. Nine projects worth 55.5-billion-rand are approved for 2025, with 15.3-billion-rand from the facility. In addition, a Rail Bill is being drafted to cement reforms under the National Rail Policy and Freight Logistics Roadmap.

# Police say nationwide Vala Umgodi Operations aim to combat illegal mining and associated criminal activities. Operations carried out between 16 and 22 June led to the arrest of 142 suspects. Police spokesperson, Vincent Mukhathi, says these suspects were arrested for illegal mining-related offences and various other crimes that include trespassing, possession of an unlicensed firearm, possession of unpolished diamonds, and unlawful possession of explosives:

# China’s top prosecutor has issued a rare admission that torture and unlawful detention takes place in the country’s justice system, vowing to crack down on illegal practices by law enforcement officials. The opaque system has long been criticised over the disappearance of defendants, the targeting of dissidents and regularly forcing confessions through torture. President Xi Jinping has vowed to reduce corruption and improve transparency. A new investigation department will target judicial officials who infringe on citizens’ rights through unlawful detention, illegal searches and torture to extract confessions.

# Cricket: Experienced Australian batter Usman Khawaja promised to guide teenager Sam Konstas when they open the batting in the first Test against the West Indies starting in Bridgetown, Barbados, today. The 19-year-old was named as replacement for Marnus Labuschagne, who was dropped from the team after his poor form during the final of the World Test Championship against South Africa in London. Thirty-eight-year-old Khawaja also struggled against the Proteas, but believes he can help his young opening partner through his new journey.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-74-cents and the euro at 20-rand-59-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-14-cents and Bitcoin trades at 107-thousand-18-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-326-dollars-23-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 66-dollars-54-cents a barrel.

# And finally: The City of Cape Town’s Disaster Risk Management Centre says it is monitoring any impacts from the current inclement weather conditions. The South African Weather Service issued a level 4 yellow warning for heavy rainfall with a risk of localised flooding over the western parts of the Western Cape, especially in low-lying and poorly drained areas, until Friday. The centre’s spokesperson, Sonica Lategan, says officials have been activated to conduct on-site assessments:

Stay tuned for more news………….