News 08:00

BULLETIN 23 April 8 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Police Commissioner says there are enough resources assigned to safeguard the executive
# The FF Plus says cultural communities such as Kleinfontein should be recognised
# And at least 26 are killed in a suspected terror attack in India

# The National Police Commissioner, Fannie Masemola, says the executive of the country, including the president and the deputy president, are in safe hands. This is as he has officially confirmed that deputy president Paul Mashatile’s motorcade was shot at after attending an ANC meeting in Boksburg last month. National Police spokesperson, Athlenda Mathe, says following the incident, an extensive investigation was conducted and is still underway with the ballistics report already concluded:

# The EFF has welcomed Parliament’s standing committee on Appropriations postponement of the adoption of the Division of Revenue Bill report. This follows the party’s proposals for amendments to the bill. The EFF says at the centre of its proposals is the call to increase the local government allocation from the current 9.5-percent to 14-percent of the non-interest expenditure. It adds that this adjustment requires reprioritising existing expenditure away from wasteful and non-essential programmes in national and provincial departments.

# The Freedom Front Plus says the MK Party’s visit to Kleinfontein near Pretoria, once again cast the spotlight on cultural communities and their right to exist in South Africa. Last year, the High Court in Pretoria declared the white Afrikaans-only settlement illegal due to the City of Tshwane’s municipality zoning regulations. The FF Plus’, Jaco Mulder, says cultural communities, including Kleinfontein, Orania, and the Zulu cultural community, reflect South Africa’s reality:

# At least 26 people have been killed after suspected militants opened fire on holidaymakers in Baisaran Valley, a picturesque town in Pahalgam, India. It is not yet clear whether foreign nationals are among the casualties. Indian prime minister Narendra Modi condemned the attack, saying their resolve to fight terrorism is unshakable and it will get even stronger. US president Donald Trump, Russian president Vladimir Putin, and European Union chief Ursula Von der Leyen are among world leaders who have condemned the suspected terror attack.

# Tennis: Four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka crashed out in the first round of the Madrid Open following a 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 defeat by Italian Lucia Bronzetti. The Japanese former world number one was playing her first match since losing in the fourth round of the Miami Open. British number one Katie Boulter earned her first WTA Tour clay-court win of her career by beating Czech Katerina Siniakova, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1, to advance to the second round. There were also wins for Romania’s Sorana Cirstea and Ukraine’s Yuliia Starodubtseva.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-57-cents and the euro at 21-rand-15-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-68-cents and Bitcoin trades at 92-thousand-881-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-336-dollars-47-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 66-dollars-85-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….