News 07:00

BULLETIN 4 April 7 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Minister Tau says South Africa won’t retaliate against the American tariffs
# The UN wants accountability for the suffering of civilians in the DRC
# And there is a  four-percent chance that a huge asteroid will smash into the moon

# Minister of Trade, Industry, and Competition, Parks Tau, says South Africa will not be adopting a retaliatory stance in response to the new global tariffs imposed by the US. President Donald Trump announced a baseline ten-percent tariff on all US imports on Wednesday, with 60 countries, including South Africa, subject to higher rates. Speaking on the sidelines of the Gauteng Investment Conference on Thursday, Tau said ties between SA and the US are not merely transactional but are built on mutual respect:

Tau also says South Africa and other African nations need to diversify their trade portfolio. He emphasised that they will be engaging with the US on the African Growth and Opportunity Act trade deal:

# The Gauteng legislature’s portfolio committee on Community Safety has commended the police for their swift actions in preventing two major robberies in Soweto this week. Police intercepted armed suspects in two incidents: two were killed during a cash-in-transit robbery attempt, while four were shot while trying to rob courier vehicles. The committee’s chairperson Bandile Masuku also joined calls for justice for seven-year-old rape victim, Cwecwe, from the Eastern Cape.

# The United Nations Human Rights Office says the offensive launched by the Rwandan-backed M23 rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo in January, has exacerbated an already dire humanitarian crisis. Over seven-thousand people have died in fighting in the east of the DRC since M23 started renewed advances. UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, Nada Al-Nashif, says any plans for sustainable peace must tackle the root causes of the conflict, including the illegal exploitation of the national wealth that lies in natural resources:

# Cricket: Proteas fast bowler Kagiso Rabada has left the Gujarat Titans squad in India and returned home to South Africa for personal reasons. The 28-year-old played in the Titans’ first two matches in the Indian Premier League, taking one wicket for 41-runs in defeating Punjab Kings and one for 42-runs in the victory against the Mumbai Indians. He was absent in the Titans’ third game, against Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Wednesday. There is no time frame on when Rabada will return.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-73-cents and the euro at 20-rand-72-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-53-cents and Bitcoin trades at 82-thousand-869-dollar-20-cents. Gold sells at three-thousand-112-dollars-1-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 69-dollars-68-cents a barrel.

# And finally: A huge asteroid that was briefly feared to strike Earth now has a nearly four-percent chance of smashing into the Moon. That’s according to new data from the James Webb Space Telescope. The asteroid, thought to be capable of levelling a city, set a new record in February for having the highest chance, 3.1-percent, of hitting our home planet than scientists have ever measured. Earth’s planetary defence community leapt into action and further observations quickly ruled out that the asteroid, called 2024 YR4, will strike Earth on December 22, 2032.

Stay tuned for more news………….