News 09:00

BULLETIN 25 June 9 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The government of national unity talks are on track despite the DA’s demands
# Saftu says the mismanagement of financial aid continues to harm students
# And an American family seeks damages from NASA after space debris hit their home

# President Cyril Ramaphosa and DA leader John Steenhuisen held a “constructive” meeting on Monday after a letter on the opposition party’s latest demands regarding Cabinet positions riled ANC loyalists.  DA sources close to the negotiations on Monday described the letter, by DA federal executive chairperson Helen Zille, as a negotiating tool. News24 understands the talks are continuing and a deal may soon be reached between parties, which would allow Ramaphosa to announce his executive by Wednesday. In its statement, the ANC said the announcement of the Cabinet was drawing close.

Meanwhile the ANC says the second phase of the government of national unity process, to appoint the Cabinet in line with the Constitution is underway. The ANC’s spokesperson, Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri says consultations with leaders of parties included in the government of national unit are underway. Bhengu-Motsiri says ten out of 18 parties joined the government of national unity initiative by Saturday and these parties represent an overwhelming majority of over 287 of the 400 seats in the National Assembly:

# Union federation Saftu says ongoing mismanagement of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme continues to harm students. The federation asserts students across various institutions face evictions and financial instability due to delayed grant payments, despite the appointment of a new board. Saftu’s Xantilomzi Mapukata urges reliable financial support during exam periods to prevent further disruption to students’ lives:

# A Florida family whose home was hit by space debris earlier this year is seeking compensation from US space agency NASA for property damage and mental anguish. This past March, the 700-gramme metal object punched a hole in the roof through two layers of the ceiling in Alejandro Otero’s home in Naples. NASA said the object was part of some two-thousand-630 kilogramme of hardware the International Space Station dumped after it had new lithium-ion batteries installed. Otero said his son was nearly injured by the impact. The agency has six months to respond to Otero’s claims.

#Tennis: Jelena Ostapenko launched her bid for a second Eastbourne title with a gritty straight sets win over Greet Minnen in the first round of the Wimbledon warm-up event on Monday, while top seed Elena Rybakina withdrew from the tournament. The leading four players at Eastbourne were all given byes into the second round but top-seed Rybakina, the 2022 Wimbledon champion, withdrew from the event on Monday following. Her decision to pull out meant 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin advanced into the second round as a “lucky loser”. The 25-year-old American will now play Britain’s Harriet Dart.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-9-cents and the euro at 19-rand-43-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-97-cents and Bitcoin trades at 61-thousand-310-dollars-75-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-326-dollars-73-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 85-dollars-16-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….