News 08:00

BULLETIN 18 May 8 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Cyril Ramaphosa is confident about the strength of support in the ANC
# South Africans in Namibia vote today
# And, soccer: Arsenal still hopes for its first Premiership title in 21 years

# ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa has expressed confidence in support for the party ahead of the upcoming May 29th polls. Despite projections of declining support, Ramaphosa asserted that the ANC’s backing remains strong. Speaking to supporters while campaigning in Greytown, KZN, he said he was sure the party’s supporters would turn out in large numbers, to ensure a clear victory:

Meanwhile, a total of 744 South Africans who are in Namibia have registered to cast their votes in the election today. According to the Electoral Commission’s Namibian representative, Dickson Magida, some voters arrived at the polling station yesterday, thinking they could vote on 17 or 18 May. The same happened in New Zealand, where voters also thought they could vote on both those days. The polling station at the High Commission in Windhoek is open from seven o’clock this morning until seven o’clock tonight.

# Public interest law centre SECTION27 has urged president Cyril Ramaphosa to sign the Basic Education Laws Amendment Bill into law. Passed by the National Assembly yesterday, the Bill aims to align the South African Schools Act with recent educational developments and court rulings. While the Bill faces opposition for shifting powers from parents to the state, SECTION27 supports its measures to enhance the Department of Education’s oversight and address past inequalities in the education system.

# Soccer: Arsenal is looking for its first Premiership title in 21 years tomorrow, with the champion only being decided on the last day of the season. Arsenal trails Manchester City by two points on top of the log. The Gunners must beat Everton in their last game and hope Man City doesn’t beat West Ham to claim their fourth successive title. Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta says his team is ready: 

Staying with the sport: Portugal’s soccer captain, Cristiano Ronaldo, is currently the world’s highest-paid athlete with estimated earnings of 4.7-billion-rand. That’s according to the magazine Forbes. Second on the list is Spanish golfer Jon Rahm with an estimated 3.9-billion-rand, followed by Argentinian soccer captain Lionel Messi on 2.4-billion-rand. The rest of the top-ten are American basketball players LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo, French soccer captain Kylian Mbappé, Brazilian soccer player Neymar, French soccer player Karim Benzema, American basketball player Stephen Curry, and American football player Lamar Jackson.

Stay tuned for more news………….