News 14:00

BULLETIN 18 June 2 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The DA urges urgent parliamentary action against Ramaphosa’s court bid amid the application deadline
# The IEC urges voters to update their registration details during registration weekend
# And soccer: It’s a do-or-die match for Bafana against the Czech Republic tonight

# The DA says Parliament’s impeachment committee lacks the legal authority to challenge president Cyril Ramaphosa’s court application to halt the Phala Phala impeachment process. This follows Parliament’s Constitutional and Legal Services Office advise to oppose the application. The DA’s Glynnis Breytenbach says pressure should be placed on the speaker of the National Assembly to file papers opposing the interdict before tomorrow’s deadline. She emphasises delays could undermine Parliament’s constitutional responsibilities:

# The CEO of the Electoral Commission, Sy Mamabolo, has urged all eligible voters to update their registration details during the special voter registration weekend. He says accurate voter information ensures citizens are placed in the correct voting district. Over 23-thousand-700 registration stations will operate nationwide from 8am to 5pm on Saturday and Sunday. Mamabolo confirmed everything had been tested and is ready to support a smooth and accessible registration process:

# Union federation Cosatu has welcomed the Industrial Development Corporation and Vision Group’s rescue package to save sugar giant, Tongaat Hulett. This preserves an estimated 250-thousand jobs across the sugar value chain. Cosatu’s Matthew Parks says the potential liquidation of the massive South African company and cornerstone of the KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga economies would have been a blow the country simply could not afford:

# Soccer: Tonight’s Group A World Cup match between South Africa and the Czech Republic is a do-or-die encounter after both teams lost their first matches. Bafana Bafana went down 2-nil to co-hosts Mexico in the opening match, while the Czechs lost 2-1 to South Korea. South Africa hopes to advance beyond the group stages for the first time ever, but will be without Yaya Sithole and Themba Zwane tonight after they were both red-carded against Mexico. Kick-off is at six, South African time.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-42-cents and the euro at 18-rand-83-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-73-cents and Bitcoin trades at 63-thousand-914-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-268-dollars-21-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 77-dollars-88-cents a barrel.

# And finally: The United Nations says soldiers and government forces were responsible for more grave violations against children in armed conflicts last year than non-state armed groups. The UN’s annual report on Children and Armed Conflict recorded 38-thousand-558 grave violations, including killings and rapes, affecting over 24-thousand children. Countries with the highest levels of violations included Palestine, Israel, Nigeria and Myanmar. The UN says when states, on whom the obligation falls to protect children, instead contribute to their suffering, it signals the deeper erosion of respect for international law.

Stay tuned for more news………….