For Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Sane Dhlamini.

Making headlines: Public warned to stay away from Johannesburg explosion site, IEC urges political parties, candidates to approach court with evidence of election malfeasance and, EU to toughen its stance on Sudan war

Public warned to stay away from Johannesburg explosion site

Around 2 800 households in the Johannesburg central business district remain in the dark as officials work to restore services following an explosion that rocked Lilian Ngoyi Street (formerly Bree Street) last week.

City manager Floyd Brink said water and power had yet to be restored because some parts of the CBD had not yet been declared safe.

City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena said they will switch on once the disaster management, Department of Labour and Emergency Management Services gives the City a go-ahead.

About 2 800 households are affected.

IEC urges political parties, candidates to approach court with evidence of election malfeasance

The Electoral Commission of South Africa has called on all political parties and candidates standing for election to approach the Electoral Commission, law enforcement agencies or the Electoral Court with any evidence of suspected malfeasance.

The IEC was responding to a news report, which said that 188 voters were registered in one household, in George.

Last week, the GOOD party approached the Electoral Court to urgently block the IEC from conducting by-elections in a suburb in the George municipality.

GOOD accused the Democratic Alliance of deliberately re-registering 174 voters in wards that they were not residents of.  

The court dismissed the application and the by-election went ahead.

EU to toughen its stance on Sudan war

The European Union is setting up a dedicated sanctions framework for Sudan to eventually target key actors in the ongoing war with travel bans and asset and bank account freezes.

A proposal document was shared between member states late last week and the details will be discussed over the following weeks, diplomatic sources said.

The aim is to finish the framework by September, after which it could be used to compile a list of banned individuals and companies, the sources said.

US President Joe Biden signed an executive order in early May laying groundwork for potential US sanctions.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today

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