News 06:00

BULLETIN 17 July 6 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Zuma will reportedly interdict his ANC disciplinary hearing
# The AA says fuel price trends show a minor relief for August
# And two people are charged with the murder of Jacques Freitag

# Former president Jacob Zuma is reportedly set to interdict the ANC disciplinary hearing against him. He has been charged with contravening the ANC rules, including contravening the party’s constitution. This is concerning Zuma’s decision to support and be the face of the MK Party for the general elections in May. He also breached his membership oath when he pledged not to campaign for the ANC. ANC secretary general Fikile Mbalula says the internal disciplinary hearing will go ahead as planned today.

# The Automobile Association reports minor changes in fuel prices for next month, with mid-month data indicating slight decreases, with 95-octane petrol down seven-cents per litre and 93-octane petrol down four-cents per litre. Diesel prices may slightly go down by one-cent per litre. While illuminating paraffin could increase by approximately six-cents per litre. The Association’s spokesperson Eleanor Mavimbela says despite decreases, high fuel prices persist, urging a review of the fuel price structure for sustainable solutions:

# Two suspects, a disgraced former lawyer, and his long-time friend, have been charged in connection with the murder of former world champion high jumper Jacques Freitag. His body was found with gunshot wounds near a cemetery in Pretoria on the first of this month after he disappeared from his mother’s home in Bronkhorstspruit two weeks before. Citizen reports the two suspects vanished after they were interrogated. The man was apprehended in Mpumalanga earlier this week while the woman is still at large.

# KwaZulu-Natal premier Thami Ntuli says due to the magnitude and frequency of disasters, the province is financially constrained in providing the required relief to affected communities. Raging fires that occurred in various communities in the province’s northern and midlands areas have claimed at least 14 lives, with 25 others injured, and thousands left homeless. The deceased include six firefighters. Ntuli says the heavy rains, tornadoes, and fire incidents from April to July this year have consumed the relief budget for the year:

# America’s Central Intelligence Agency believes Hamas’s leader in Gaza is experiencing increased pressure from his own commanders to end the war with Israel. CIA director Bill Burns reportedly told a meeting Yahua Sinwar is being blamed for the suffering in the area. According to CNN, US intelligence believes Sinwar, the person to decide whether Hamas should accept a deal, is currently hiding in the tunnels beneath Khan Younis. Burns says his commanders are tiring of the fight which started in early October.

# Rugby: The first-choice Springboks are taking a 10-day break from today between the shared series against Ireland and the start of their preparations for the Rugby Championship. Salmaan Moerat will captain South Africa in Saturday’s one-off Test against Portugal in Bloemfontein. Meanwhile, management is sweating over the fitness of stalwarts Pieter-Steph du Toit, Malcolm Marx, and Franco Mostert, who are all nursing injuries. The Boks’ first encounter in the Championship will be against the Wallabies in Brisbane on the tenth of next month.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-5-cents and the euro at 19-rand-67-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-42-cents and Bitcoin trades at 65-thousand-510-dollars-38-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-472-dollars-66-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 83-dollars-60-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….