For Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Halima Frost.

Making headlines: DA appoints Glynnis Breytenbach as party’s Parliamentary Chief Whip; Eskom warns of Joburg power cuts after city ‘fails to honour terms of court order’; And, Health workers race to respond to Congo's fast-spreading Ebola outbreak

DA appoints Glynnis Breytenbach as party’s Parliamentary Chief Whip

Advocate Glynnis Breytenbach is the Democratic Alliance’s new Chief Whip in Parliament, taking over from George Michalakis, who is now the DA’s Parliamentary Leader.

Michalakis announced Breytenbach’s appointment today, noting her 12-year role as the party’s spokesperson on justice.

Breytenbach will oversee the DA’s 13 National Assembly whips, 87 National Assembly members, and 12 National Council of Provinces members, alongside her deputy Chief Whip Bax Nodada.

Eskom warns of Joburg power cuts after city ‘fails to honour terms of court order

Eskom has issued a public notice warning of possible electricity supply interruptions in the City of Johannesburg from July 8, owing to an alleged failure by the municipality to honour the terms of a settlement agreement relating to outstanding debt and the payment of its current electricity account.

The settlement agreement was made an order of the High Court in November last year.

In a full-page advertisement published on Sunday, Eskom said that CoJ and/or City Power owed it more than R5.25-billion and that it had decided to initiate a process that could result in the interruption of power supply “to stop spiralling debt”.

Eskom stated recently that the overall outstanding debt from municipalities had increased to over R111-billion and that it would pursue more so-called Distribution Agency Agreements with smaller municipalities, despite objections to the arrangement, including a legal challenge.

The utility issued the public notice relating to Johannesburg in line with the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act indicating that it intended to reduce, interrupt and/or terminate electricity supply to certain bulk supply points supplying the CoJ and/or City Power.

And, Health workers race to respond to Congo's fast-spreading Ebola outbreak

Medical personnel were rushing to the frontlines of a new Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo whose late detection and quick spread have alarmed health experts.

The World Health Organization yesterday declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern because of the high risk the disease could spread further beyond DRC's borders after two cases were confirmed in Kampala, the capital of neighbouring Uganda.

The outbreak is suspected to have killed around 80 people in recent weeks, with eight cases confirmed by laboratory testing and 246 suspected cases reported in eastern DRC's Ituri province.

Another case was confirmed in neighbouring North Kivu province's capital, Goma, according to the M23 rebels who control the city. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also said that it was supporting partners withdrawing a small number of directly affected Americans.

A delegation led by DRC Health Minister Samuel Roger Kamba arrived in Ituri's capital Bunia with tents to set up treatment centres to support strained local hospitals.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today

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