News 07:00

BULLETIN 12 May 7 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# A group of Afrikaner refugees have left the country for the US
# Pastor Omotoso will today appear in court on immigration charges
# And Pope Leo calls for an end to wars in his first Sunday sermon

# A group of 49 Afrikaners, who have been granted refugee status by the US, left South Africa yesterday evening. They departed from OR Tambo International Airport on a private chartered flight. In February, US president Donald Trump described Afrikaners as victims of racial discrimination in an executive order. The group is expected to be welcomed by government officials at the Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia today. Transport Department’s spokesperson, Collen Msibi, told Newzroom Afrika that all passengers were vetted:

# The South African Communist Party and the Congress of Traditional Leaders of South Africa will continue to engage each other on its decision to contest the 2026 local government elections. The SACP’s spokesperson, Mbulelo Mandlana says the land question has, unfortunately, occupied a backseat in the programmes of the state, intended to advance national transformation over the last thirty years. He says the question of land must now come to the centre of the common political programme:

# Controversial Nigerian televangelist Timothy Omotoso is expected to appear in court in East London today on charges of contravening the provisions of the Immigration Act. Omotoso, who was acquitted of 32 charges of rape, human trafficking and racketeering in April, was arrested at the weekend. Home Affairs minister Leon Schreiber has declared him a prohibited person in South Africa. Christians of South Africa, the supporters of Omotoso, say they do not believe his arrest was for immigration reasons but to silence his prophetic voice.  

# The DA in Gauteng says theatre and maternity units at Carletonvile Hospital are non-operational due to the water crisis putting patients’ lives in danger. This was discovered during during the Gauteng Health and Wellness Portfolio Committee oversight visit at the Hospital earlier this week. The DA’s Madeleine Hicklin says this crisis stems from Merafong Local Municipality’s water supply having been throttled by 20-percent over non-payment of 1.6-billion-rand bill to Rand Water:

# Pope Leo the 14th has pleaded for an end to global wars. Giving his first Sunday address at St Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, he appealed for a genuine, just, and lasting peace in Ukraine. The new pontiff called for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war, saying humanitarian aid must be provided to the exhausted civilian population and all the hostages must be freed. He also welcomed the recent ceasefire between India and Pakistan. Pope Leo will be formally inaugurated at a mass in St Peter’s Square on Sunday.

# Rugby: The Lions suffered a 32-19 defeat to Wales’ Scarlets in the United Rugby Championship at Ellis Park in Johannesburg. The visitors outscored the hosts four tries to three to register a bonus-point win and boost their playoff hopes. The Lions’ hopes of progressing into the knockout stage were ended before kick-off. This is after Italian club Benetton clinched a bonus-point 33-7 victory against defending champions Glasgow Warriors on Saturday, bolstering their playoff aspirations. There is just one round of the regular season to go.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-22-cents and the euro at 20-rand-45-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-19-cents and Bitcoin trades at 104-thousand-203-dollar-59-cents. Gold sells at three-thousand-263-dollars-85-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 64-dollars-14-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….