“Hard work” of reform, not grandstanding, only solution to immigration – Schreiber
Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber has warned that “[a]nyone who suggests that there’s going to be a lasting systemic solution to immigration through any actions that fall outside of the law is actually misleading because that is going to make the situation worse, not better”. Speaking ahead of the so-called 30 June “deadline” for undocumented migrants to leave South Africa, Schreiber said his department remained focused on what he described as the “hard work” of reform rather than political grandstanding. Though the department was contending with severe resource constraints – having, for example, only 832 immigration officers for the whole of South Africa – it had been preparing for potential fallout by running large-scale repatriation operations.
WHO says 1,300 excess deaths “linked to” Europe’s heatwave
More than 1,300 excess deaths have been recorded since 21 June “linked to high temperatures in Europe”, says head of the World Health Organization Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. Temperature records were broken across the continent again yesterday – including in Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic – as the extreme heat continued to move east.
SA have become more tolerant of homosexuality and gender non-conformity – report
A new report by the Other Foundation, “Admission Reserved”, finds South Africans have become more accepting of homosexuality and gender non-conformity over the past decade. According to the report, about 5.3% of South Africans 16 or older, or 2.39-million people, identify as LGBTI. It found just over half (52%) of South Africans believed sexual relations between two adults of the same sex were always wrong in 2025, compared with two-thirds in 2015. Support for same-sex marriage rose from 37% to 45% over the period, with most South Africans (58%) now agreeing that gay and lesbian people deserve the same rights as everyone else. The figure was similar (57%) for bisexual and transgender people and 68% for people who are intersex. Other Foundation CEO Neville Gabriel is quoted as saying: “This research matters because it shows how much has changed but also how much remains at stake. At a time when rights and protections are under attack in many parts of the world, civil society must remain vigilant.”
US, Iran agree to halt hostilities – official
Washington and Tehran have agreed to stop hostilities and resume talks on differences over the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. A US official is quoted as saying: “Technical talks are slated to continue on all areas of the MOU [Memorandum of Understanding]. Both sides will stand down for now and vessels can move freely.” The 14-point MOU agreed on 17 June was meant to guarantee the reopening of the strait to traffic.
36 killed in Pakistan attacks on Afghanistan
Pakistan’s information minister Attaullah Tarar says last night’s military action along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border targeted hideouts over the border used by terrorists Islamabad blames for a deadly militant attack in Karachi that killed three security personnel over the weekend. The Taliban said Pakistans action killed 36 civilians and wounded 163. Tarar said Pakistani security forces had carried out an “intelligence-based ground operation” followed by airstrikes.
Sources: BBC, Business Day, Bloomberg, Reuters, The Guardian, News24.