News 14:00

BULLETIN June 1st 2 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Nomvula Mokonyane says the ANC would put the country first when deciding on coalitions
# DA leader John Steenhuisen is ready for coalition talks to replace the ANC-government
# And, Tennis: Djokovic can equal Federer’s record for Grand Slam match wins today

# The ANC’s second deputy secretary-general, Nomvula Mokonyane, says the party would put the country first and respect the will of voters when deciding on coalition partners. This as the election results put the ruling party well short of a majority of 50-percent. Mokonyane says the National Executive Committee will meet to discuss how to respond to the election results:

The DA leader John Steenhuisen has earlier assured South Africans of his readiness for coalition talks to remove the ANC from power. Speaking at the Result Operation Centre in Midrand, he praised voters for reducing the ANC’s majority to 40.2-percent for the first time in 30-years. Steenhuisen emphasised forming coalition governments with like-minded parties to rescue and reshape South Africa:

The ANC remains in the lead nationally as the Electoral Commission is nearly complete with processing the voting district results. Preliminary results show the ANC at 40.26-percent followed by the DA at 21.69-percent and the MK Party at 14.68-percent. In KwaZulu-Natal, MK is leading with 45.32-percent followed by the IFP at 18.04-percent and the ANC third with 17-percent. In Gauteng, the ANC leads with 34.75-percent followed by the DA at 27.59-percent and the EFF at 12.9-percent. In the Western Cape, the DA is maintaining its majority with 55.3-percent followed by the ANC at 19.52-percent and the Patriotic Alliance with 7.82-percent of the votes.

# Tennis: Novak Djokovic can equal Roger Federer’s record for Grand Slam match wins by beating Lorenzo Musetti at the French Open today. Defending champion Djokovic will go level with the retired Federer on 369 victories at the Slams if he sees off the Italian 30th seed and makes the last 16. Djokovic has defeated Musetti four times in five meetings. The Italian did give the Serb a major scare at the French Open in 2021 when he won the first two sets before retiring injured in the decider.

# And, finally: Dutch Agriculture minister Piet Adema is considering a ban on so-called “puppy yoga” in which participants use infant dogs during practice sessions. He says the animals were suffering. Puppy yoga, which combines traditional yoga with fluffy puppies, has become hugely popular since it was introduced in the Netherlands a few months ago, especially in Amsterdam. Adema opposes the practice, saying the animals are often woken up while sleeping before being used in sessions in which many dogs showed stressed behaviour.

Stay tuned for more news………….