News 06:00

BULLETIN4 June 6 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The ANC NEC will meet today to discuss coalitions
# A tornado leaves a trail of destruction in Tongaat, KwaZulu-Natal
# And cricket: South Africa begins the T20 World Cup with a comprehensive victory

# The ANC’s national executive committee will meet today to discuss possible coalitions. The party failed to secure a majority, getting 40.2-percent of the national votes. According to reports, there is a strong view by senior ANC leaders that a confidence-and-supply agreement would be preferable. This would involve the ANC forming a minority government, and opposition partners voting with it on crucial decisions such as confidence motions and budgets. The arrangement could see the ANC retaining all executive positions nationally, but relinquishing positions in Parliament like the speaker position.

# The National Energy Regulator of South Africa has approved a national free basic electricity rate of 194.40-cents per kilowatt-hour. This will be effective from the first of next month. This rate determines how municipalities compensate Eskom for providing free basic electricity to qualifying households, covering essential needs like lighting and water heating. Nersa spokesperson Charles Hlebela says the current 50 Kilowatt-hours monthly allowance is also under review due to changing economic conditions:

# The Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality in the Eastern Cape is expecting more disruptive rain today leading to flooding. This comes as eight people have died in the metro, while rescue teams are still searching for a missing 20-year-old victim who was washed away near Dawn in East London. More than one-thousand-300 residents have been displaced by the floods. Nelson Mandela Bay mayor, Gary van Niekerk, says the government is providing temporary shelter to affected residents:

Meanwhile, a tornado struck Tongaat in KwaZulu-Natal yesterday afternoon causing extensive damage to roads and infrastructure. The provincial Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs says trees were uprooted, blocking roads and causing major traffic jams. Several vehicles were also damaged. Dozens of residents have been displaced. The department says it is waiting on preliminary reports on the extent of damages.

# Ukraine says it would urge allies to give its troops more freedom to strike military targets inside Russia after the United States partially lifted restrictions on the use of some Western-supplied weapons. Washington last week gave Ukraine limited permission to use Western-supplied weapons to strike some military targets on Russian territory. The issue has been deeply divisive among Ukraine’s supporters, with some reluctant to permit Ukraine to strike over the border, fearing this could drag them closer to direct conflict with Moscow.

# Cricket: Anrich Nortjé claimed four wickets as South Africa won their opening game of the T20 World Cup against Sri Lanka by six wickets in New York. Sri Lanka were bowled out for 77, their lowest T20 total, after winning the toss and electing to bat first. In reply, South Africa reached the target with 22 balls remaining. Player of the match Nortjé, who is returning from injury, says this is a great result for the team:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-51-cents and the euro at 20-rand-21-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-72-cents and Bitcoin trades at 69-thousand-57-dollars-42-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-348-dollars-53-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 77-dollars-99-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….