News 16:00

BULLETIN 27 June 4 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# President Cyril Ramaphosa rejects the DA’s ultimatums after firing deputy minister Whitfield
# Deputy president Mashatile condemns the attacks on Iran
# And tennis: Carlos Alcaraz starts his Wimbledon defence against Fabio Fognini

# President Cyril Ramaphosa says he will not yield to threats or ultimatums over his constitutional powers to appoint or remove members of the executive. This follows the dismissal of the DA’s Andrew Whitfield as deputy minister of Trade, Industry and Competition for travelling to the US without presidential approval. Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya rejected claims of political motives, citing DA leader John Steenhuisen was informed about the decision beforehand:

# Deputy president Paul Mashatile has condemned the recent attacks on Iran and called for a permanent ceasefire in global conflicts. Speaking at the G20 youth roundtable in Sandton, Gauteng, he urged young people worldwide to unite and advocate for peaceful solutions. Mashatile says South Africa understands the impact of war on ordinary people and stressed that youth must use every platform available to advocate for an end to violence:

# Justice and Constitutional Development minister Mmamoloko Kubayi outlined a range of measures introduced to tighten up security at the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court in Cape Town following the murder of an accused. Dingalomoyo Chintso was shot dead on the premises earlier this year. Director-General Doctor Mashabane directed the installation of a security scanner, the tightening of access control, and the enhancement of vetting of court officials. Kubayi says a security strategy has proposed new ways to address the security gaps in all the courts.

# Tennis: Carlos Alcaraz will start his Wimbledon defence against Fabio Fognini while world number one Jannik Sinner faces a potential semi-final clash against Novak Djokovic following today’s draw. Spaniard Alcaraz, who has beaten Djokovic in the past two finals, arrives at the All England Club on a career-best 18-match winning streak. He is aiming to become just the fifth man to win at least three straight Wimbledon titles. On the women’s side, reigning champion Barbora Krejcikova begins her campaign against 2025 breakout star Alexandra Eala on Centre Court.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-77-cents and the euro at 20-rand-84-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-43-cents and Bitcoin trades at 107-thousand-182-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-278-dollars-28-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 66-dollars-93-cents a barrel.

# And finally: Stellenbosch University researchers are playing a leading role in a global trial investigating the use of artificial intelligence to improve tuberculosis diagnosis. The project, titled ‘Computer assisted diagnosis with lung ultrasound for community based pulmonary tuberculosis triage in Benin, Mali and South Africa’, involves a consortium of 10 health and research institutions across Africa and Europe. The university’s Shima Abdulgader says TB remains the world’s deadliest infectious disease, yet it is massively underdiagnosed:

Stay tuned for more news………….