News 17:00

BULLETIN 25 June 5 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Tumelo Nku invokes his self-incrimination right over information sources
# Cosatu supports the Special Pensions Amendment Bill, describing it as progressive
# And, the Venezuelan earthquakes kill at least 164 people as rescuers still search for survivors in collapsed buildings

# Businessman Tumelo Nku has refused to reveal how he obtained certain information, telling the Madlanga Commission that disclosing the source could incriminate him. Nku is accused of coordinating with suspended Gauteng Traffic Police Chief Inspector, Samuel Mashaba, to stage a false police bust to steal the confiscated cocaine. Nku has disputed claims of being a trafficker and maintained he was instead working as a confidential source:

# Union federation Cosatu says the Special Pensions Amendment Bill is long overdue, and correctly seeks to ensure that special pension fund recipients receive the full benefits, protections and rights due to them. The union federation has presented its submission in support of the bill to Parliament. Cosatu’s Matthew Parks says the bill is an affirmation that the country’s humanity must be anchored upon how it cares for the elderly, in particular those who have given so much to the nation:

# Build One South Africa says the loss of Cape Town’s clean audit status shows the city needs full-time leadership. The Auditor-General has reportedly revoked the city’s clean audit status due to weaknesses in procurement and supply chain management. BOSA’s Roger Solomons argues residents are facing rising living costs, infrastructure pressures, congestion and safety concerns, and need leadership that is fully focused on service delivery. Solomons promises better governance under BOSA leadership ahead of the local government elections.

# Last night’s back-to-back earthquakes in Venezuela have killed at least 164 people, with close to a thousand injured. In the capital of Caracas, rescuers are searching through the rubble and people have been heard calling for help. Acting president Delcy Rodríguez earlier declared a state of emergency. She says there had been 30 aftershocks. The quakes, with magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5, hit a minute apart. The second was the strongest to hit Venezuela since 1900. The US Geological Survey says thousands of people could have been killed.

# Cricket: Vaibhav Sooryavansha is expected to become India’s youngest international player ever in tomorrow’s first T20 against Ireland in Belfast. He will be 15-years and 91-days – even younger as batting ace Sachin Tendulkar, who made his debut at 16. Sooryavanshi exploded for Rajasthan Royals in this year’s Indian Premier League, smashing 776 runs in 16 innings. Earlier this week, he bettered the record for the fastest half-century ever in List A one-day cricket when he reached 50 from just 11 balls for India A against Sri Lanka A.  

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-48-cents against the rand and the euro at 18-rand-71-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-71-cents and Bitcoin trades at 61-thousand-158-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-22-dollars-73-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 73-dollars-11-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….