News 08:00

BULLETIN 2 June 8 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# President Ramaphosa will attend today’s announcement of the election results
# According to reports Israeli and US officials are meeting to discuss Rafah
# And more disruptive rain is expected in the Buffalo City Municipality

# President Cyril Ramaphosa will participate in the Electoral Commission’s announcement of the final results of the general elections in Midrand this evening. He will deliver an address as part of the ceremony. The Presidency says this year’s elections implemented the Electoral Amendment Act, which became law in June 2023, expanding the contest pool for the national and provincial elections to independent candidates. The IEC’s results dashboard has placed the voter turnout at 58.61-percent.

Neanwhile, the ommission says it is not feeling under siege with all the allegations levelled against it. Jacob Zuma’s MK Party is attempting to hold the country to ransom by threatening to challenge the announcement by the IEC of the election results. This comes as parties have accused the commission of rigging the election results. IEC chairperson Mosotho Moepya says they conducted the whole process in a very transparent manner:

# Egypt will host Israeli and US officials today to discuss the reopening of the Rafah crossing, a vital conduit for aid into the besieged Gaza Strip. Al-Qahera News, which has links to Egyptian intelligence, quoted an unidentified senior official as saying Cairo was demanding a total Israeli withdrawal from the terminal on Gaza’s southern border with Egypt. The crossing has been closed since Israeli forces seized its Palestinian side in early May, reducing aid flows into the war-torn territory to a trickle.

# Tennis: Defending champion Novak Djokovic is through to the last 16 of the French Open after recording his 369th Grand Slam match win, moving him equal with Roger Federer. The Serb fought back from two sets to one down to win, 7-5, 6-7, 2-6, 6-3, 6-0, against Italian Lorenzo Musetti in over three hours. Two-time finalist Norwegian Casper Ruud has set up a clash with American Taylor Fritz after beating Argentina’s Tomas Martin Etcheverry, 6-4, 1-6, 6-2, 6-2. Ruud says the match was a rollercoaster:

# And finally, Buffalo City Municipality in the Eastern Cape has issued a warning to residents to be cautious on the roads as heavy rain is set to continue today. The South African Weather Service has issued an impact-based warning for level six disruptive rain until 11 pm tonight. The municipality’s spokesperson, Samkelo Ngwenya, says the metro has been experiencing heavy rain downpours in the past few days, resulting in infrastructure damage, especially in low-lying areas.

Stay tuned for more news………….