News 16:00

BULLETIN 16 July 4 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Minister Gayton McKenzie backs Cachalia’s appointment as acting Police minister
# Solidarity warns of a FlySafair strike as pilots’ salary talks hit turbulence
# And boxing: Kevin Lerena is ready to rumble in the heavyweight showdown against Britain’s Okolie

# Sports, Arts and Culture minister Gayton McKenzie has welcomed president Cyril Ramaphosa’s decision to establish a commission of inquiry into allegations made by KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi. McKenzie told Newzroom Afrika he supports the appointment of acting Police minister, Firoz Cachalia, after Senzo Mchunu was placed on special leave. He claims the police is controlled by gangsters and expressed hope Cachalia will address the issue:

# Solidarity says salary talks with FlySafair have reached a deadlock and pilots are preparing to go on strike. According to the union, the airline’s final offer of a six-percent salary increase was rejected by most pilots due to a severely strained relationship with management. Solidarity’s Helgard Cronjé says key concerns include a controversial shift roster and new leave policies that pilots say harm their quality of life:

Moving abroad:

# Russia fired hundreds of drones, artillery and a ballistic missile at Ukraine, defying calls by US president Donald Trump to reach a peace deal. The attacks left one woman dead and wounded more than two dozen people across multiple regions, while a missile attack cut power and water in Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky’s home city of Kryvyi Rig. The bombardment came two days after Trump threatened to impose severe sanctions against Russia unless it reaches a peace settlement within 50 days to end its three-year war against Ukraine.

# Boxing: South African’s Kevin ‘Two Guns’ Lerena has vowed to dim the lights of Britain’s former cruiserweight champion Lawrence Okolie in London on Saturday. Lerena, the World Boxing Council’s bridgerweight champion, will battle for the WBC Silver Heavyweight title on the undercard of the Daniel Dubois versus Oleksandr Usyk rematch at Wembley Stadium. Lerena, returning to heavy weight action, holds a record of 31 victories and three losses. He looks forward to a knockout in the 12-round battle to cement his return to heavyweight action.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-91-cents and the euro at 20-rand-77-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-98-cents and Bitcoin trades at 118-thousand-861-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-335-dollars-70-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 67-dollars-53-cents a barrel.

# And finally: The University of Pretoria says young people with digital and artificial intelligence proficiencies are more likely to access formal employment, secure higher incomes, and navigate dynamic job environments. By 2027, 43-percent of work-related tasks could be performed by machines, with data-driven decision-making, automation and smart systems becoming standard practice. The university’s senior lecturer, Sean Kruger, says AI readiness requires critical data interpretation, ethical judgement, algorithmic awareness and the ability to work with AI tools strategically. He adds that AI should never replace core human traits like critical thinking.

Stay tuned for more news………….