News 15:00

BULLETIN 9 May 3 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# President Cyril Ramaphosa approves a bill against hate crimes and speech 
# The NUM calls on the entire construction industry to pay attention to health and safety protocols 
# And cricket: Mumbai can’t survive the IPL’s group phase anymore 

# President Cyril Ramaphosa has signed into law the Prevention and Combating of Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Bill. According to the Presidency, this legislation sees the criminalising of hate crimes and speech. It says it aligns with South Africa’s constitutional values of equality, human rights, and non-discrimination. The act prohibits discrimination and ensures the right to dignity and freedom from violence. It aims to prevent hate crimes, enforce measures effectively, and gather data on such offenses.

# The National Union of Mineworkers is calling on the entire Construction Industry to pay attention to health and safety protocols on sites as prescribed in the Occupational Health and Safety Act. This follows after a building under construction in George collapsed and killed eight workers. NUM’s Mlondolozi Limaphi says the unfortunate death of eight workers and the entrapment of workers under the rubble could have been avoided if health and safety was a priority instead of profits:

# The Western Cape Education Department is reminding parents to apply for the late registration for Grade 1 and 8 before Sunday’s deadline. MEC David Maynier disclosed that 114-thousand-144 learners’ applications have been submitted for the 2025 academic year, with 87-percent using the online system. Parents needing assistance can visit their district office. Maynier says the Grade R and transfer requests for other grades will open from the 1st to 16th August:

# Cricket: Mumbai Indians became the first team who won’t survive the group phase of the Indian Premier League. They are second to last on the log after only winning four of their 12 matches. Much earlier in the season fans already blamed Hardik Pandya for their bad run after he replaced hugely popular Indian captain Rohit Sharma as captain of Mumbai. Sharma led the team to all five its titles. Two-time champion Kolkata Knight Riders are currently top of the log after eight victories from 11 games.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-51-cents and the euro at 19-rand-86-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-6-cents and Bitcoin trades at 60-thousand-921-dollars-95-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-312-dollars-66-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 84-dollars-20-cents a barrel.

# And finally: The Copernicus Climate Change Service reported that last month was the hottest April on record, marking 11 consecutive months of unprecedented high temperatures. Despite a weakened El Niño, attributed to human-induced climate change, global temperatures soared. The report indicates that April temperatures were 1.58-degrees Celsius warmer than pre-industrial levels. Copernicus Climate Change Service director Carlo Buontempo warns that greenhouse gas concentrations will likely continue pushing temperatures to new records, surpassing the 1.5-degrees Celsius warming threshold set by the Paris Agreement.

Stay tuned for more news………….