News 12:00

BULLETIN 25 June 12 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Mmusi Maimane writes to president Cyril Ramaphosa to urgently establish a national convention composed of all 18 Parliamentary parties
# Agricultural business confidence hits its lowest level since the 2009 financial crisis
# And Tennis: Novak Djokovic is to play Wimbledon but only if he feels he can challenge for the title

# BuildOneSA leader Mmusi Maimane says he has written to president Cyril Ramaphosa, requesting that he urgently establishes a national convention composed of all 18 Parliamentary parties. This is with a mandate to decide on the purpose, agenda and scope of a new government of national Unity. Maimane says a national convention offers the most democratic and transparent pathway to agreeing on the composition of a new national government that is values-based and delivery-based:

Meanwhiele, the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse says it is concerned about the public squabbling over positions in the government of national unity by political parties. OUTA CEO, Wayne Duvenage says this could jeopardise the formation of a stable and lasting government of national unity, which the country desperately needs. Duvenage says if more time is required to reach an amicable and workable agreement, OUTA would prefer to see an additional week or two taken, rather than a rushed process that could lead to ongoing conflicts:

# The Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa’s Confidence Index has revealed a significant decline in business confidence within the agricultural sector. Agbiz says this marks its lowest level since the 2009 financial crisis. Factors contributing to this downturn include adverse farming conditions exacerbated by El Niño, challenges at ports, and issues with infrastructure and service delivery. Despite a slight recovery in economic conditions, chief economist for Agbiz, Wandile Siholobo, says concerns persist regarding export volumes and geopolitical tensions impacting overall sentiment.

# Tennis: Novak Djokovic is encouraged by his progress after minor knee surgery less than three weeks ago but the seven-time Wimbledon champion said he will only play in the grass court Grand Slam next month if he is able to fight for the title. The 37-year-old picked up an injury at the French Open and pulled out of the quarterfinals before having surgery. The world No 2’s only defeat in the Grand Slams in 2023 came at Wimbledon where he was beaten in five sets by Carlos Alcaraz in the final.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-10-cents and the euro at 19-rand-43-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-99-cents and Bitcoin trades at 60-thousand-830-dollars-78-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-326-dollars-83-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 85-dollars-18-cents a barrel.

# And finally: China has become the first country to successfully bring back samples from the far side of the Moon, where missions are more complex because of its mountainous terrain. SkyNews reports China’s lunar probe has returned to Earth, touching down in the northern Chinese region of Inner Mongolia. The re-entry capsule of the Chang’e probe landed at about 7 am South African time and carried lunar soil collected earlier in the month.

Stay tuned for more news………….