News 06:00

BULLETIN 3 July 6 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Nobuhle Nkabane dismisses calls for her resignation as misogynistic
# NUMSA gets the green light to strike over its Gautrain wage dispute
# And Denmark is going to conscript women for military service

# Higher Education minister Nobuhle Nkabane says political parties rejecting the department’s budget is rejecting the budget for South Africans. The DA and EFF criticised her leadership and handling of SETA board appointments and National Student Financial Aid Scheme related issues. Nkabane dismissed calls for her resignation as misogynistic. Speaking in Cape Town, Nkabane revealed that 332-million-rand was disbursed to students through the NSFAS since 2023. She urged continued investment in academia:

# The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa has been granted a certificate to strike after wage talks deadlocked with Bombela Operating Company, which runs the Gautrain. NUMSA spokesperson, Phakamile Hlubi-Majola, says the union is demanding a seven-percent wage hike and improved allowances, rejecting the employer’s 4.2-percent offer. The union blames the company’s arrogance. She urges the Gautrain Management Agency and Gauteng government to intervene and prevent disruption to services:

# Political analyst Bheki Mngomezulu says internal divisions within the MK Party could harm its electoral prospects. This follows calls for the removal of chief whip Colleen Makhubele, accused of poor leadership. In addition, deputy president John Hlophe removed spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndhlela from the whippery team for factionalism and disrespectful conduct towards senior MK Party leaders. Mngomezulu told SABC News that public infighting signals instability, threatening party unity and voter trust:

Meanwhile, Hlophe has requested party president Jacob Zuma to dissolve the party’s top management structure in Parliament. In his letter, Hlophe accuses the leadership of undermining chief whip Colleen Makhubele’s authority and allowing disruptive behaviour. Hlophe called out Zuma’s daughter Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla and party spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndhlela for unruly conduct in party caucus meetings. He warns this internal division threatens party unity and could damage its performance in Parliament.

# Denmark has expanded its military service to include women, as it seeks to recruit more soldiers and strengthen its defenses amid heightened security concerns across Europe. Under a Danish law passed in June 2023, women turning 18 after July 1 will have to register for assessment for potential military conscription. Until now, women, who last year made up around 24-percent of all recruits, had been allowed to join the military voluntarily. The armed forces are now in the process of adjusting barracks and equipment to better suit women.

# Tennis: Carlos Alcaraz spoiled Oliver Tarvet’s Wimbledon adventure as the defending champion moved into the third round with a 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 win over the British amateur on Wednesday. Second-seeded Alcaraz needed two hours and 17 minutes to subdue world number 733 Tarvet, who produced flashes of his emerging talent to delight the partisan crowd. Tarvet is just starting his tennis career, and as a student at the University of San Diego, the 21-year-old must maintain amateur status, which means he will have to give up most of his earnings.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-55-cents and the euro at 20-rand-71-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-96-cents and Bitcoin trades at 108-thousand-96-dollar. Gold sells at three-thousand-351-dollars-5-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 68-dollars-76-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….