News 18:00

 BULLETIN 20 June 6 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The DA can govern Beaufort West alone after a by-election victory
# The National Council of SPCAs urges action on the overstocked black wildebeest at a SANDF base
# And rugby: The Jakaranda-kinderhuis children take centre stage at the United Rugby Championship final 

# The DA has secured an outright majority in Beaufort West’s by-elections, allowing the party to govern the municipality independently. The victory in wards one, three and six in the Central Karoo, displaced the Patriotic Alliance, ANC and Karoo Democratic Force. The DA’s Daylin Mitchell says this outcome promises a new era for the town plagued by corruption and poor service delivery:

Meanwhile, the IFP secured seven out of 12 contested wards in KwaZulu-Natal by-elections. The party gained majorities in ward 12 in Newcastle, ward ten in uMvoti, ward ten in uMthonjaneni, ward 15 in uPhongolo, ward eleven in Nongoma, and wards nine and 19 in uMzumbe municipalities, many previously held by the ANC. The DA celebrates winning Newcastle’s ward five. The IFP’s Ntandoyenkosi Shabalala urges new councillors to emulate the late Mangosuthu Buthelezi’s leadership:

# The National Council of SPCAs has written to Defence minister Thandi Modise over overstocked black wildebeest at the National Defence Force’s Barney Molokoane base in the Free State. The council wants answers on the animals, estimated to number between 300 and 400. The NSPCA is concerned about their living conditions, as well as a possible food shortage during the winter months. The department could face legal proceedings should the SANDF fail to act.

# Kuwait has announced temporary power cuts in some parts of the country during peak consumption hours, saying it is struggling to meet increased demand spurred by extreme summer heat. Kuwait’s Ministry of Electricity, Water and Renewable Energy says the scheduled cuts will occur for up to two hours a day, in the first such step for the OPEC member state as climate change causes temperatures to rise. It blamed the cuts on the inability of power plants to meet increased demand during peak hours.

# Rugby: The United Rugby Championship final at Loftus Versfeld this Saturday will be a show of unity like never before as 30 children from the Jakaranda-kinderhuis in Pretoria have been selected to hand over the medals to the players after the match. CEO of the Jakaranda-kinderhuis, Charlene Grobler, was overwhelmed when told their children had been asked to take centre stage in front of 50-thousand fans at the first ever URC final at Loftus. They will also be treated to a suite experience on match day.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-6-cents and the euro at 19-rand-37-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-91-cents and Bitcoin trades at 64-thousand-826-dollars-57-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-350-dollars-8-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 85-dollars-77-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….