News 11:00

BULLETIN 2 July 11 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The MK Party’s secretary-general resigns citing an untenable workload
# Netanyahu says Israel is nearing the end of eliminating Hamas in Gaza
# And tennis, Djokovic is confident about his knee ahead of his Wimbledon opening match

# MK Party secretary-general, Arthur Zwane, has resigned with immediate effect. In a letter to the party, he says in the last two weeks he has realised that the volume of work in the position is huge and beyond his limits, especially because he has other competing business interests that he is pursuing. Zwane, who was appointed a few months ago, says he will be available to ensure a smooth transition to the new secretary-general.

# AfriForum is ready to cooperate with the new minister of Cooperative Government and Traditional Affairs, Velenkosini Hlabisa, to address poor municipal governance. AfriForum’s Petrus Coetzee has called for prioritising of improving intergovernmental relations, upgrading water and sewage infrastructure, regulating electricity distribution, and enhancing financial management. He calls for grants to be awarded to municipalities to support various projects and operational needs, ensuring accountability and efficient use of resources:

# ActionSA in Gauteng says it is clear that the ANC and the DA are more interested in jockeying for positions than addressing the urgent service delivery challenges in the province. This comes as premier Panyaza Lesufi’s cabinet announcement was derailed at the eleventh hour yesterday evening, as the ANC and DA bickered over positions. ActionSA’s Samkelo Mgobozi says the continuation of self-interested horse trading is concerning:

# Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the country’s military is closer to eliminating Hamas in Gaza. This comes as the Israeli Defence Force has ordered a mass evacuation of Palestinians from Khan Younis in Gaza’s south. The military is reportedly planning to launch a new ground assault on the territory’s second-largest city. Netanyahu has vowed that they will return hostages from Gaza, eliminate Hamas’ military and governing capabilities, and ensure that Gaza will not constitute a threat against Israel.

# Tennis: Twenty-four-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic says he is confident about the health of his knee ahead of his first-round match at Wimbledon today. The Serb had surgery to repair a torn meniscus after withdrawing before his French Open quarterfinal match less than four weeks ago. The 37-year-old will face Czech qualifier Vit Kopriva in the first round, as he begins his quest for a record-equalling eighth title. Djokovic says he has had a good week of training:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-43-cents and the euro at 19-rand-77-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-29-cents and Bitcoin trades at 62-thousand-780-dollars-98-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-330-dollars-43-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 86-dollars-79-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….