News 11:00

BULLETIN 29 May 11 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# There are long queues as South Africans are waiting to cast their votes
# Six suspects are arrested in the Eastern Cape for contravening the Electoral Act
# And the White House says the US will continue to support Israel despite its military operations in Rafah

# Long queues have been reported at voting stations in several areas, including Luleka Primary School in Khayelitsha, Piet Hugo Primary School in Polokwane and Country View in Johannesburg. Millions of South Africans are voting across 23-thousand-292 voting stations nationwide. Stations close at nine this evening, but the Electoral Commission says voters who are still in the line, will not be turned away.

# Six suspects have been arrested on charges of contravention of the Electoral Act in Mqanduli in the Eastern Cape. The suspects aged between 24 and 51 destroyed a voting station in the form of a tent complaining of poor service delivery in the area. Police spokesperson, Welile Matyolo, says the six will appear in the Mqanduli Magistrate’s Court on Friday:

# Rand Water has issued notices to four municipalities in Gauteng, signalling its intent to limit supply by 20-percent within 30 days. The Lesedi, Merafong City, Ngwathe and Victor Khanye municipalities collectively owe the water utility 1.3-billion-rand. Merafong City, west of Johannesburg, has the largest outstanding account, owing 838.2-million-rand. Rand Water says part of the municipality’s bulk water supply agreement allows it to limit potable water in the event of non-payment.

# The White House says recent Israeli operations and attacks in Gaza’s southern city of Rafah do not constitute a major ground operation that crosses any US red lines. This comes after an Israeli strike killed 45 Palestinians, many of them women and children, at a camp for displaced people on Sunday. US National Security Council spokesperson, John Kirby, says America was not turning a blind eye to the plight of Palestinian civilians:

# Motorsport: F-I-A president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has suggested Andretti should try to buy one of Formula One’s existing teams, rather than continuing their attempt to set up their own team. Andretti’s bid to enter F1 in 2025 or 2026 has been rejected by commercial rights holders Liberty Media. Andretti are pushing ahead with their plans to join the grid in their own right, having recently opened a UK base at Silverstone. Sulayem says it’s not about the number of teams, but the quality on the grid.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-24-cents and the euro at 19-rand-80-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-29-cents and Bitcoin trades at 68-thousand-442-dollars-92-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-353-dollars-10-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 84-dollars-21-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….