News 08:00

BULLETIN 11 June 8 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# RISE Mzansi welcomes the announcement of the first sitting of Parliament
# The former Eskom CEO Brian Molefe is considering taking legal action against Corruption Watch
# And the UN Security Council adopts a US-backed resolution for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza

# RISE Mzansi has welcomed Chief Justice Raymond Zondo’s announcement that the first sitting of the National Assembly will be held on Friday. During the sitting, Zondo will preside over the election of the president, National Assembly speaker, and deputy speaker. Parliament must be constituted within 14 days of the declaration of the election results. RISE Mzansi’s national spokesperson, Gugu Ndima, says the election of the three individuals must take place to ensure constitutional, democratic and social stability:

# The MK Party Youth League says it rejects Jabulani Khumalo’s continued statements that he is the party leader. The expelled party founder and leader Khumalo insists he will attend the first sitting of the National Assembly to get sworn in as a Member of Parliament. His name was not removed from the party’s final list to Parliament, despite clashing publicly with the party, even taking them to court. The Youth League says it only recognises Jacob Zuma as the only and rightful leader of the party.

# Former Eskom CEO Brian Molefe is considering taking legal action against Corruption Watch. This comes as the non-profit organisation has filed a notice of withdrawal of their court application to have Molefe declared a delinquent director. In 2018, Corruption Watch filed a lawsuit in the High Court in Pretoria against Molefe and four former Eskom board directors. Molefe’s legal team says he suffered enormous damages economically and professionally, by the baseless and defamatory statements against him.

# The United Nations Security Council has adopted a US-drafted resolution for a permanent ceasefire between Hamas and Israel, and the release of the hostages in Gaza. Fourteen of the 15 Security Council members voted in favour of the resolution. Russia abstained. A three-part ceasefire plan was unveiled by US president Joe Biden last month. Israel has already accepted the deal. Palestine’s ambassador to the UN, Riyad Mansour, has welcomed the adoption of the resolution:

# Soccer: Three Valencia fans were handed eight-month jail terms for racist abuse towards Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior. It was the first such conviction in Spain. The defendants, who were not identified, were convicted of an offence against moral integrity with the aggravating factor of racially motivated discrimination. They were also slapped with a two-year match ban. With no previous criminal record, none will serve jail time, as judges habitually suspend prison sentences of less than two years for first-time offenders.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-75-cents and the euro at 20-rand-20-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-88-cents and Bitcoin trades at 68-thousand-349-dollars-58-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-303-dollars-39-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 81-dollars-43-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….