News 16:00

BULLETIN 23 June 4 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Supreme Court of Appeal rules in favour of the Lungu family in a burial dispute
# Oscar Mabuyane loses a defamation bid against Julius Malema
# And soccer: Manchester United acquires most of the land to build its 100-thousand-seater stadium

# The Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein has overturned last year’s ruling of the High Court in Pretoria allowing the Zambian government to repatriate the remains of former president Edgar Lungu for a state funeral and burial. The court ruled in favour of Lungu’s family, allowing him to be buried in South Africa in line with his stated wishes. It found family dignity and burial rights outweighs the Zambian government’s claims, and found the High Court had incorrectly applied international cooperation laws to a private family dispute.

# Eastern Cape premier Oscar Mabuyane has lost his defamation case against EFF leader Julius Malema, with the High Court in KuGompo City ordering him to pay legal costs. The matter arose from Malema’s allegations that Mabuyane fraudulently obtained a master’s degree from the University of Fort Hare. Judge Jannie Eksteen ruled that while individuals have a right to protection from unlawful attacks, that protection does not extend to lawful criticism where a defence of truth and public interest has been established.

# Police say the arrest of over 15-thousand suspects within a week as part of the nationwide Operation Shanela underscores their determination to disrupt criminal networks and safeguard communities. Spokesperson Vincent Mukhathi says police arrested two-thousand-521 illegal foreigners across provinces for contravening the Immigration Act, in line with government’s crackdown on illegal migration:

# Action Society has criticised the Department of Justice for failing to respond to a Promotion of Access to Information Act application, seeking information about the National Register for Sex Offenders. This is despite an extended deadline expiring on 20 June. Action Society’s Juanita du Preez says more than 15-thousand citizens have supported their campaign, demanding greater transparency and stronger protection for children:

# Soccer: English giants Manchester United has secured a massive 10-hectare piece of land, equal to about 14 standard soccer pitches, clearing the path to build a state-of-the-art 100-thousand-seater stadium. The club purchased the site from industrial firm Indurent, owned by real estate giant Blackstone. The historic project is estimated to cost around 43.5-billion-rand and is set to become the UK’s largest sporting arena. The world-class stadium will anchor a wider economic regeneration zone, with completion targeted for the 2030/31 season.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-49-cents and the euro at 18-rand-76-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-79-cents and Bitcoin trades at 62-thousand-337-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-116-dollars-14-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 76-dollars-88-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….