News 13:00

BULLETIN 9 July 1 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Cosatu demands urgent interventions to resolve the crises facing financially distressed municipalities
# At least 14 people are killed in American strikes across Iran
# And tennis: Wimbledon reaches the singles semifinal stage

# Union federation Cosatu is demanding urgent interventions to resolve the alarming crises facing financially distressed municipalities across the country. The National Treasury has temporarily withheld 13.5-billion-rand in local government equitable share transfers from 69 non-compliant municipalities. Cosatu’s Matthew Parks says they appreciate the need to install financial discipline in these errant authorities, but is worried about the unintended potential consequences of withholding funds:

Activists and Citizens Forum welcomed this decision. Spokesperson Dennis Bloem says widespread corruption and poor governance have left many municipalities unable to provide basic services, despite residents paying for them:

# The GOOD Party has strongly condemned the City of Cape Town’s proposed regulations on backyard bird feeding by-law enforcement as Orwellian. Secretary-general Brett Herron says this is not about birds, but about a city that keeps finding new corners of citizens’ lives to regulate, and new excuses to justify it. He adds that first, it was Capetonians being told they couldn’t paint a Palestinian flag on their own walls:

Moving abroad:

# Iran’s Health Ministry says the recent wave of US strikes has killed 14 people and injured 78 others. The US military struck 170 targets in Iran in the last 48 hours, including more than 60 small boats of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran launched retaliatory strikes on American bases in Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar. Both sides have vowed to escalate retaliation should provocations continue. Iran’s top negotiator, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, has vowed the strait will remain under Iranian management.

 # Tennis: Wimbledon has reached the singles semifinal stage, with seventh-seeded American Coco Gauff the highest-seeded player left in the women’s draw. She will face tenth-seeded Czech player Karolina this afternoon, while another Czech, ninth-seeded Linda Nosková, will play Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk for a place in Saturday’s final. Among the men, a block-buster semifinal is expected between top-seeded Italian and defending champion, Jannik Sinner, and seven-time champion Novak Djokovic tomorrow. Local wildcard Arthur Fery and second-seeded German Alexander Zverev plays in the other match.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-37-cents and the euro at 18-rand-70-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-95-cents and Bitcoin trades at 62-thousand-794-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-108-dollars-54-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 77-dollars-39-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….