News 15:00

BULLETIN 17 June 3 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# ActionSA delivers a scathing one-year review of the government of national unity
# The DA calls for a probe into the bus crash that claimed 12 lives in KwaZulu-Natal
# And soccer: Mamelodi Sundowns’ coach says the Club World Cup will be a stern test

# ActionSA says the government of national unity has failed to deliver on its promises a year after being formed. Presenting a review of the GNU’s performance, ActionSA’s Michael Beaumont says the government lacks a clear agenda or reforms, calling it an Instagram administration more focused on public relations than fixing unemployment, poor services, and corruption. Beaumont warned the GNU was functioning as an ANC extension, with no tangible change or progress seen:

# The DA in KwaZulu-Natal calls on the Transport Department to ensure a full and transparent investigation into the cause of a horrific bus crash on the R34 road in Vryheid this morning. The party says the accident claimed the lives of 12 people and left more than 20 injured. The DA’s Riona Gokool says this tragedy once again highlights the urgent need for improved road safety measures and the enforcement of traffic regulations:

# The University of the Witwatersrand has made available 22-million-rand in emergency funding to immediately support postgraduate students and key research staff in the Faculty of Health Sciences. This is in response to the sudden termination of major international health research funding from the US government. Wits says this emergency funding will assist approximately 75 postgraduate students to complete their degrees, and will provide gap funding for key research-active staff members for up to six months. 

# China has accused president Donald Trump of fanning the flames in the mounting conflict between Iran and Israel after the US leader warned Tehran residents to immediately evacuate. The sudden flare-up in hostilities has sparked fears of a wider conflict, with Trump urging Iran back to the negotiating table after Israel’s attacks derailed ongoing nuclear talks. Asked about Trump’s remarks, Chinese Foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said making threats and mounting pressure will not help to promote the de-escalation of the situation, but will only intensify and widen the conflict.

# Soccer: Mamelodi Sundowns’ coach, Miguel Cardoso, believes the Club World Cup in the US is the ideal level to test themselves. Sundowns is in Group F with South Korea’s Ulsan HD, eight-time Bundesliga champions Borussia Dortmund, and Brazil’s Fluminense. They kick off their campaign against Ulsan tomorrow. Cardoso says making it out of the group stage would be an incredible achievement:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-82-cents and the euro at 20-rand-62-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-18-cents and Bitcoin trades at 105-thousand-624-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-394-dollars-67-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 73-dollars-74-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….