News 17:00

BULLETIN 26 June 5 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Cabinet clarifies that no budget has been approved for the National Dialogue as yet
# Iran’s supreme leader says they’ve won the war and dealt the US a severe slap to the face
# And rugby: Two Wallabies are released to the Reds after a meeting between Australia and the Lions

# Cabinet says no budget has been approved yet for the upcoming national dialogue. This follows growing public concern over reported cost estimates for the initiative. Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni says the proposed funding has not gone through the normal government budgeting process and has not been considered by the inter-ministerial committee chaired by deputy president Paul Mashatile:

Meanwhile, ActionSA says president Cyril Ramaphosa must fire all 42 deputy ministers, not just one. This follows Ramaphosa’s removal of the DA’s Andrew Whitfield as deputy minister of Trade, Industry and Competition. Action SA argues the president missed a crucial opportunity to remove ministers linked to corruption or poor performance, including Ntshavheni, Nobuhle Nkabane and Thembi Simelane. Spokesperson Athol Trollip says the current cabinet is bloated and ineffective.

# The DA in Gauteng has slammed the provincial Education Department over unpaid bills after 525 schools have been left without electricity or water. The DA’s Sergio Isa dos Santos says 398 no-fee schools are worst affected, with some learners forced to study in darkness and unsafe conditions for over a month. He calls for the formation of a task team to resolve billing disputes and prevent future disconnections:

# Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, says that the United States had gained nothing from its attacks during the Islamic Republic’s 12-day war with Israel that saw nuclear sites hit. In a statement published by state media, Khamenei said the US engaged in the war directly, convinced that its refusal to intervene would lead to the complete destruction of Israel. In his first public remarks since Tuesday’s ceasefire ended the war, he claimed Iran won, and in retaliation dealt a severe slap to the face of America.

# Rugby: Wallabies head coach Joe Schmidt released Hunter Paisami and Matt Faessler to the Reds for next week’s match against the British and Irish Lions. The tourists warned Australia earlier it would be in breach of contract if it doesn’t allow its Test players to play against them in midweek matches. The decision was reached during a meeting between Rugby Australia’s CEO, Phil Waugh, and Lions CEO Ben Calveley. Another six Reds players are staying with the Wallabies for next weekend’s warm-up Test against Fiji in Newcastle.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-72-cents and the euro at 20-rand-76-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-32-cents and Bitcoin trades at 107-thousand-77-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-323-dollars-55-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 66-dollars-97-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….