News 18:00

BULLETIN 7 May 6 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Julius Malema’s UK visa is denied ahead of the Cambridge conference
# The Reserve Bank and BIS launch the 2025 G20 TechSprint initiative in Johannesburg
# And rugby: The scrumhalf Jake Gordon becomes the latest Wallaby to stay in Australia until the 2027 World Cup

# EFF leader Julius Malema has been denied a UK visa to attend the Cambridge Conference this weekend. Malema criticised the decision as an attempt to silence dissenting political views. He revealed that he received the denial letter just four hours before his scheduled departure, despite earlier assurances that the matter would be resolved earlier this afternoon. In a social media post, Malema labelled the decision by UK authorities as unacceptable and spineless.

# The South African Reserve Bank and the Bank for International Settlements have launched the 2025 G20 TechSprint initiative in Johannesburg. The competition invites global innovators to develop scalable digital solutions that enhance trust and integrity in the financial system, focusing on digital identity and cross-border credit data sharing. SARB governor Lesetja Kganyago emphasised the importance of secure digital identities, and seamless data exchange to reduce fraud and improve financial inclusion. Winners will be announced in November, with a top prize of 548-thousand-rand.

# The Gauteng Department of Health has been granted leave to appeal a Johannesburg High Court ruling which declared its failure to provide radiation oncology services to nearly three-thousand cancer patients unlawful and unconstitutional. The March judgment ordered the department to update the backlog list and implement a treatment plan within 45 days. Spokesperson Motalatale Modiba believes the appeal will allow for comprehensive legal review of the issues raised in the judgment:

Meanwhile, the DA in Gauteng is calling for the removal of Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Hospital CEO, Gladys Bogoshi, which faces yet another crisis as patients suffer without food and hot water. The DA’s Jack Bloom says doctors and nurses are struggling to deal with hungry patients as bread and porridge is served for meals instead of the normal variety of nutritious food. He says even tea and sugar are not available:

# Rugby: Scrumhalf Jake Gordon became the latest Wallaby to reject lucrative offers from abroad to stay in Australia until after the World Cup in the country in 2027. The 31-year-old says he was excited by the prospect of playing against the British and Irish Lions this year, and hopefully making his World Cup debut in two years’ time. Among nine other Test players who’ve recently extended their contracts with Rugby Australia are Fraser McReight, Nick Frost, Harry Wilson, Jeremy Williams, and Lachlan Lonergan. 

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-23-cents and the euro at 20-rand-72-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-37-cents and Bitcoin trades at 97-thousand-368-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-383-dollars-76-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 61-dollars-85-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….