Rats in the chamber

South Africa’s biggest city is imploding ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

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Welcome to Balance of Power, bringing you the latest in global politics. If you haven’t yet, sign up here. The interruption to a municipal council debate this week when rats were spotted in the chamber is emblematic of the state of South Africa’s biggest and most important city. Despite boasting more millionaires than any other African city and serving as the base of most of the country’s large companies, Johannesburg is, in the words of a consultant hired by business groups to assess its condition, “essentially bankrupt.” It owes state utilities hundreds of millions of dollars, faces the threat of power cuts, and can’t pay for fuel to carry out maintenance on potholed roads, broken traffic lights and dilapidated bridges. And that’s left the African National Congress, which leads the coalitions running the city and the national government, with a thorny problem — all the more so in an election year. WATCH: Jennifer Zabasajja reports on the state of the city on Bloomberg TV. The city’s spokespeople didn’t respond to phone calls and emails seeking comment. Taking action against a municipality it leads ahead of November’s local balloting may further cut its support in a race that pollsters say it’s already losing against the Democratic Alliance. Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has been angered by the city’s signing of what he says is an illegal $625 million wage deal with its workers. He has told Johannesburg Mayor Dada Morero that he has until today to explain why he shouldn’t cut $486 million in annual state funding. If he does carry out his threat, it will worsen the metropolis’ already dire finances and may make the nuclear option inevitable: having the Gauteng provincial government appoint an administrator for the city. While that would be bad enough for the ANC’s electoral fortunes, not acting could see the impact of a collapse damage the national economy at a time when it’s already fragile. Johannesburg accounts for 16% of national economic output and, despite its woes, remains Africa’s financial capital. It will be for Godongwana to decide whether he puts country before party. — Antony Sguazzin Morning commuters in Johannesburg’s Diepsloot township. Photographer: Leon Sadiki/Bloomberg Global Must Reads An attack on a container vessel sailing through the Strait of Hormuz has prompted some shipowners to review exit plans but traffic continued to flow in both directions through the vital thoroughfare today. Israel and Lebanon are discussing locations for areas in southern Lebanon where the Beirut government could prove its ability to keep out Hezbollah. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy approved a 40-day operation to “influence” Russia into ending the war after receiving a briefing from the head of his security service on strikes against Russian targets. The Russian Defense Ministry reported downing 660 Ukrainian drones overnight across numerous regions, including supply routes to Crimea, in what looked to be the most intense aerial attack on its territory in more than four years of war. Black smoke rises from the area of an oil refinery on the outskirts of Moscow on June 18. Source: AFP/Getty Images Seven weeks since the local-election losses that sealed Keir Starmer’s exit as prime minister, the bleak economic inheritance awaiting his successor — likely former Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham — is suddenly looking improved, if not quite yet rosy. Falling oil prices are key for the UK’s outlook, since the IMF and OECD expected it to be the advanced economy worst affected by the Iran war. Indonesia is dangling unprecedented legal protections for investors in President Prabowo Subianto’s sovereign wealth fund, a move analysts warn could attract money with questionable origins and further erode the reputation of Southeast Asia’s largest economy. A provision of a new financial-sector law shields purchases of bonds from the Danantara fund from criminal, civil or tax probes. The death toll from twin earthquakes that rocked Venezuela rose to 235 with thousands more injured, as rescue teams desperately cleared away rubble to reach trapped victims. Acting President Delcy Rodríguez urged people to use VenApp — once a tool for snitching on dissidents — to report missing people and damaged infrastructure. Rescue workers search for survivors. For one of the first times since the Nazi trials at Nuremberg, a court is considering whether executives should go to prison for doing business with a brutal government, in this case Sudan. Former First Lady Michelle Bolsonaro signaled she plans to remain on the sidelines of Flávio Bolsonaro’s presidential campaign after what she described as a disrespectful phone call with her stepson, exposing fresh tensions within the family. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa warned that the government won’t allow anyone to destabilize the country, following a series of xenophobic attacks and anti-immigrant demonstrations. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspected a new train station at a beach resort on the country’s east coast, weeks after Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged deeper tourism ties between the two countries. A beach resort in North Korea’s eastern coastal tourist zone in July 2025. Source: Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service/AP Photo Don’t miss from Bloomberg Weekend: Mishal Husain speaks with Steve Hilton about his bid to become California governor. Dan Williams writes about the proliferation of guns in an Israeli town, while Bill Donahue reports on a mandatory service program meant to help rebuild post-genocide Rwanda. Subscribe to the newsletter here. Sign up for the Washington Edition newsletter for news from the US capital and watch Balance of Power at 1 and 5 p.m. ET weekdays on Bloomberg Television. Chart of the Day Chinese cars made up more than one in ten new purchases in Europe for the first time last month, as consumers flock to models that offer better features for less money. Hybrids and plug-in hybrids like the MG S9 sport utility vehicle helped Chinese carmakers capture nearly a quarter of all new hybrid car sales, while demand for fully electric cars from China also rose. “Chinese brands offer consumers significantly more car for their money,” said Julian Litzinger, an analyst at Dataforce. And Finally The heat wave searing much of Europe is officially the most severe ever recorded in the region. Researchers at World Weather Attribution found that temperatures were between 5C and 12C above the seasonal averages across France, Germany, Italy, Spain and southern England. British lawmakers pressed the government on its plans to protect citizens from scorching weather as the UK experiences its second heat wave this year. Tourists seek shade in Barcelona on May 27. Photographer: Angel Garcia/Bloomberg Pop Quiz (no cheating!). The former president of which South American country facing charges including human trafficking and statutory rape has been evading arrest since 2024, protected by thousands of supporters in a compound? Send your answers to balancepower@bloomberg.net. 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