News 12:00

BULLETIN 6 June 12 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Action Society warns against reappointing minister Bheki Cele to Cabinet 
# The Eastern Cape premier calls for a collaborative effort to help flood-affected victims 
# And tennis: The French Open men’s final will be without one of the Big Three for the first time since 2004

# Action Society has urged the ANC to exclude Police minister Bheki Cele from the Cabinet following the party’s significant loss of 71 seats in the elections. The organisation cites his poor performance and involvement in past corruption scandals. Action Society’s Juanita du Preez argues that Cele has failed to protect both the public and police members, and lacks the trust needed to lead the South African Police Service. Du Preez believes Cele’s reappointment would demonstrate the ANC’s tolerance of corruption:

# Eastern Cape premier Oscar Mabuyane is calling on the private sector to join forces with the government in helping flood victims. The province has been devastated by catastrophic flooding and inclement weather conditions, which have resulted in the death of ten people. Over three-thousand-people have been left displaced and are currently at temporary shelters. Mabuyane says they are determined to provide support to families who have lost their homes and possessions:

# Business confidence has improved in the second quarter of this year. The Rand Merchant Bank and Bureau for Economic Research Business Confidence Index increased by five points to 35-percent ahead of the general elections. This means that roughly just over a third of the respondents were satisfied with prevailing business conditions. Confidence grew in four of the five sub-sectors of the index. RMB’s Isaah Mhlanga says substantial investment and economic reforms are needed to sustain confidence and foster growth.

# At least 30 Palestinians including five children have been killed in an Israeli airstrike at a United Nations-run school in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza. The Israeli military has confirmed that it carried out a strike at the school, saying it had been home to Hamas terrorists who had taken part in the October 7 attack on Israel. Hamas has described the attack as a horrific massacre that shames humanity.

# Tennis: Defending champion Novak Djokovic’s withdrawal from the French Open means there won’t be any of the Big Three in Sunday’s men’s final for the first time in 20 years. The Serbian, 14-time champion Rafael Nadal of Spain and Swiss maestro Roger Federer have dominated the tournament since 2004. Djokovic won three times and Federer once. Djokovic injured his knee on Monday, giving Norwegian Casper Ruud a free ride to the semifinals, with Italian Jannik Sinner taking over as world number one next week.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-90-cents and the euro at 20-rand-56-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-17-cents and Bitcoin trades at 70-thousand-932-dollars-9-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-361-dollars-81-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 78-dollars-83-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….