News 17:00

BULLETIN 20 June 5 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# AfriForum calls for justice in Julius Malema’s firearm trial
# Giwusa wants government to introduce the long-overdue Basic Income Grant 
# And rugby: Patrick Tuipulotu recovers from a knee injury to captain the Blues against the Chiefs in the final

# AfriForum insists no politician is above the law while EFF leader Julius Malema and his co-accused Adriaan Snyman are on trial in the East London Regional Court. AfriForum’s Community Safety spokesperson Jacques Broodryk criticises Malema’s shifting defense and highlights expert opinions disputing the claims of using blanks or a toy gun at an EFF rally. He emphasises Snyman’s previous misconduct with firearms, calling for justice to take its course:

# The General Industries Workers Union is calling on government to revive the economy through creating employment and improving workers’ wages, as well as introducing the long-overdue Basic Income Grant. Giwusa’s Koketso Phasha says this can be achieved through re-imposing a reasonable corporate tax rate, which stood at 52.5-percent in 1992 and is now down to 27-percent, without any corresponding increase in private sector investment:

# ActionSA in the Northern Cape says government needs to secure borders, end illegal immigration, and halt the inflow of illicit goods into the country. ActionSA’s Lance Poonawassy says the party has committed to ensuring effective immigration control, which not only protects the sovereignty but also safeguards foreign nationals. Poonawassy says on Sunday, 72 suspected illegal miners were arrested at Samaria informal settlement in Kimberley during Operation Vala Umgodi:

# South Africa has adopted a single-dose Human Papillomavirus vaccine regimen and extended government-subsidised jabs to private schools. This shift, supported by evidence showing comparable protection to multi-dose regimens, aims to increase coverage to 90-percent by 2030. The HPV vaccination campaign, providing GlaxoSmithKline’s Cervarix, now also includes independent schools. While the single-dose regimen is effective for HIV-negative girls, further studies have to assess its effectiveness for HIV-positive girls.

# Rugby: All Blacks lock Patrick Tuipulotu has bounced back from a knee injury to captain the Auckland Blues in Saturday’s sell-out home Super Rugby final against the Waikato Chiefs. A crowd of around 45-thousand is expected at Eden Park to see the two New Zealand sides lock horns in the title decider. Veteran forward Tuipulotu, who has played 43 Tests for New Zealand, returns to the starting side despite hobbling off with a torn medial ligament just a fortnight ago in the quarter-final win over the Fijian Drua.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-10-cents and the euro at 19-rand-40-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-95-cents and Bitcoin trades at 65-thousand-764-dollars-65-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-337-dollars-37-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 85-dollars-70-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….