News 09:00

BULLETIN 1 July 9 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The ANC commends the overall peaceful nationwide protests
# An inquest docket is opened after a foreigner jumped from a building in Durban
# And soccer: France, Norway, and Mexico are through to the World Cup last 16

# The ANC says it commends the overwhelming majority of South Africans who exercised their democratic rights peacefully and responsibly during nationwide anti-immigrant protests yesterday. Police responded to isolated incidents of looting and attempted looting and made several arrests. Acting ANC national spokesperson, Nonceba Mhlauli, says they recognise that South Africans have legitimate concerns regarding illegal immigration and its impact on public services, jobs, crime, and the rule of law, but these concerns must be addressed through lawful and democratic processes:

# National Assembly deputy Speaker, Annelie Lotriet, has agreed to schedule the EFF’s motion of no confidence in Speaker Thoko Didiza. This is subject to several procedural amendments that still need to be made. Lotriet says some of the allegations contained in the motion may need to be substantiated or removed in line with the National Assembly’s rules. The EFF has accused Didiza of failing to protect Parliament’s institutional authority after deciding not to oppose president Cyril Ramaphosa’s urgent court application to halt the work of the Impeachment Committee. 

# KwaZulu-Natal police have opened an inquest docket after a foreign national allegedly jumped off a building and died. The incident happened in a building on Margaret Mncadi Avenue in Durban. Police spokesperson, Robert Netshiunda, says reports indicate that three foreign nationals had broken into a storage facility and were staying there for three days when the incident happened:

# Outgoing British prime minister, Keir Starmer, says the new Defence Investment Plan goes further in response to growing threats the UK faces. The roughly 6.48-trillion-rand plan includes investment in a fleet of four nuclear-armed submarines, munitions and weapons to boost stockpiles, and in innovative technology, which is changing the way that militaries fight with artificial intelligence. Starmer says the plan will now increase the military budget to 2.7-percent of gross domestic product by 2029:

# Soccer: Kylian Mbappe starred for France, as the two-time World Cup champions defeated Sweden 3-0 in New Jersey, to set up a last 16 tie with Paraguay. Mbappe scored twice, moving one behind Argentina’s Lionel Messi on the tournament’s all-time leading scorer list. In Dallas, Norway sealed a 2-1 victory against the Ivory Coast and will face five-time champions Brazil in a mouth-watering last-16 showdown. Meanwhile, co-hosts Mexico defeated Ecuador 2-0 and will take on either England or the Democratic Republic of Congo in the round of 16.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-42-cents and the euro at 18-rand-73-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-73-cents, and Bitcoin trades at 59-thousand-57-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-974-dollars-19-cents a fine ounce, and Brent crude oil is quoted at 73-dollars-18-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….