News 12:00

BULLETIN 3 June 12 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The IFP establishes a seven-member task team to facilitate coalition talks 
# Government says the elections were contested in a spirit of political maturity
# And rugby: The Bulls’ Marco van Staden is a doubt for the United Rugby Championship quarterfinals

# The IFP’s national executive committee has established a seven-member task team led by its deputy president, Mzamo Buthelezi, to facilitate all coalition-related matters. This include engaging with other parties. The IFP is the fifth biggest party nationally, having secured 3.85-percent of the votes. It is also the second largest in KwaZulu-Natal after the MK Party. IFP leader Velenkosini Hlabisa says they accept the election results as the democratic will of the people:

Meanwhile, government says the successful conclusion of the general elections marks a watershed feat in the journey of South Africa’s inclusive and participatory democracy. The elections saw no less than 16 million citizens cast their vote, translating into a voter turnout of 58.61-percent. The government’s spokesperson, Nomonde Mnukwa, says these elections were encouragingly competitive and contested in a remarkable spirit of political maturity and tolerance:

# Iran’s hardline former president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has registered his candidacy for the presidential election. The Islamic republic goes to the polls on 28 June to replace president Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash. Ahmadinejad held the post for two straight terms from 2005 to 2013, a period marked by a standoff with the West especially over Iran’s nuclear programme and his incendiary remarks on Israel. His bid is pending the approval of the Guardian Council, a conservative-dominated body of 12 jurists that vets all candidates for public office.

# Rugby: World Cup winner Marco van Staden is a doubt for the Bulls’ United Rugby Championship quarterfinal clash against Italian side Benetton in Pretoria on Saturday. He left the field with an undetermined injury during the Bulls’ 26-14 victory against the Sharks in Durban on Saturday. Van Staden recently returned to the playing field after he sustained a ligament injury. Bulls’ director of rugby, Jake White, says they have some options:

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-72-cents and the euro at 20-rand-28-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-79-cents and Bitcoin trades at 68-thousand-989-dollars-65-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-326-dollars-42-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 81-dollars-14-cents a barrel.

# And finally: A small slice of the highest earners in the UK are responsible for seven times more greenhouse gas emissions from their travel and transport than the average person. A report by the left-leaning IPPR thinktank found the highest earning one-percent with salaries of at least 3.8-million-rand a year, emit at least seven times more from their transport than average earners, and 13 times that of the lowest earners. It comes amid a debate about whether the UK should introduce a levy on frequent fliers in a bid to curb this carbon-intensive form of travel.

Stay tuned for more news………….