News 12:00

BULLETIN 26 June 12 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Pan African Parliament could face collapse due to a lack of money and infighting
# ActionSA slams the delay in critical government work due to ministerial position negotiations
# And tennis: The Wimbledon 2024 men’s singles belong to the young ones

# The Pan African Parliament, with its headquarters in Midrand, is reported to be in danger of collapsing. Its president, Fortune Charumbira of Zimbabwe, says the P-A-P has become known as “an institution of hooligans” and it is the legislators’ responsibility to change that. The assembly has been mired in internal disputes, which have disrupted funding. News24 reports the parliament was dormant from August 2023 to March, while Charumbira’s leadership was questioned as he faced embezzlement charges.

# ActionSA says the critical work of the seventh administration is being delayed by the intense struggle for positions. According to the party, backroom negotiations for ministerial posts have sidelined issues like cabinet size and executive accountability, with leaked details revealing non-transparent discussions. ActionSA’s Athol Trollip critisised president Cyril Ramaphosa’s reversal on reducing the cabinet’s size and the DA and ANC’s attempt to influence directors-general appointments:

# Canada has urged its citizens in Lebanon to leave while they can, warning of the risk of escalating violence between Israel and Hezbollah in the region. Canadian Foreign minister Melanie Joly issued a statement calling for her compatriots to depart from Lebanon while commercial flights remain in operation. Joly says the security situation in Lebanon is becoming increasingly volatile and unpredictable due to sustained and escalating violence between Hezbollah and Israel. She warns it can deteriorate further without warning.

# Tennis: Carlos Alcaraz will start defending his 2023 Wimbledon title on Monday. His main rival is likely to be world number one Jannik Sinner. Victory for the 21-year-old Spanish crowd-pleaser will give him back-to-back Grand Slam crowns after his French Open triumph. Djokovic, the seven-time champion, is an injury doubt, as is 2013 and 2016 winner Andy Murray. And with Roger Federer retired and Rafael Nadal sitting out for the Olympics the men’s final is likely to be the first in 22 years not to feature at least one of the Big Four.

# Financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-26-cents and the euro at 19-rand-54-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-15-cents and Bitcoin trades at 61-thousand-508-dollars-38-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-313-dollars-32-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 84-dollars-37-cents a barrel.

# And finally: The City of Cape Town says proactive essential maintenance on the Cape Flats water network is coming to an end today. Peninsula Beverages came on board and donated more than four-thousand-800 litres of bottled water and availed two 33-thousand litre water tankers to help fill City tankers to reduce turnaround times when refilling tankers.  Mayoral committee member for Water and Sanitation, Zahid Badroodien says four out of six valves have already been replaced:

Stay tuned for more news………….