News 09:00

BULLETIN 30 May 9 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# A total of 2,335 voting districts have declared their results
# Herman Mashaba says he is willing to work with the EFF in local government
# And tennis: There were victories for Swiatek, Alcaraz, and Sinner in the second round of the French Open

# The Electoral Commission says two-thousand-335 out of 23-thousand-293 voting districts have declared their results. Nationally the ANC is currently leading with 42.30-percent, followed by the DA with 26.34 and the EFF on 8.10-percent. The hotly contested KwaZulu-Natal is currently being led by Jacob Zuma’s MK Party with 39.91-percent followed by the ANC and the DA. In the Western Cape, the DA is in the lead with 62.85-percent while Gayton McKenzie’s Patriotic Alliance is in second with 18.55-percent. The DA is also leading in Gauteng with 44.58-percent against the ANC’s 27.98-percent.

# ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba says his party won’t work with the ANC, EFF, or MK Party at the national level, but is prepared to work with the EFF in local government. There is a prevailing forecast that the ANC might dip below the crucial 50-percent mark, necessitating a coalition government at the national level. Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, are poised for intense competition and the inevitable formation of coalition governments. Mashaba says they will work with parties that share similar values:

# Metalworkers union Numsa says it will continue its strike action at South African Steel Mills trading as Alfeco Holdings. This comes after the steel producer allegedly fired more than 100 workers for participating in what the Labour Court ruled was a lawful strike. On Tuesday the union held a picket at the company’s offices in Meyerton, south of Johannesburg. The union’s spokesperson, Phakamile Hlubi-Majola, says the company has treated workers unfairly for far too long:

# A Hong Kong court has found 14 democracy activists and politicians guilty of subversion and acquitted two. A total of 47 people were convicted of conspiracy to commit subversion for their roles in holding an unofficial primary election in 2020, to decide who should contest city lawmaker elections. Only 16 of them entered not-guilty pleas, while the remaining 31 who pleaded guilty are still awaiting the outcomes of their cases. Subversion carries a maximum term of life imprisonment in the country.

# Tennis: Defending champion Iga Swiatek saved a match point on her way to victory against Naomi Osaka in the second round of the French Open. The 22-year-old Pole fought back to win, 7-6, 1-6, 7-5. There were also victories for American Coco Gauff and Tunisian Ons Jabeur. In the men’s draw, Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz defeated qualifier Jesper de Jong of the Netherlands, 6-3, 6-4, 2-6, 6-2, while Italian Jannik Sinner dispatched France’s Richard Gasquet in straight sets. Swiatek says the match was tough:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-45-cents and the euro at 19-rand-93-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-44-cents and Bitcoin trades at 68-thousand-85-dollars-26-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-335-dollars-35-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 83-dollars-36-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….