News 11:00

BULLETIN 26 May 11 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Solidarity sets aside seven-million-rand to stop race laws in South Africa
# Six family members are killed in a fire on the Gauteng East Rand
# And Trump sends a strong warning to Putin following the latest attack on Ukraine

# Solidarity says it is intensifying its campaign to stop race laws in South Africa by establishing a legal fund of seven-million-rand. The fund will have several court cases against the new race regulations, a contempt of court case against president Cyril Ramaphosa, and a challenge against the proposed new 100-billion-rand Transformation Fund. Solidarity’s Jaco Kleynhans says they will soon hand over a report on the intensification of race laws to US president Donald Trump’s administration:

# Business Leadership South Africa says president Cyril Ramaphosa’s visit to the US made it clear that the country needs dependable and stable trading relationships with major world markets. The US is South Africa’s second-biggest trading partner. BLSA CEO, Busiswe Mavuso, says through its tariff moves, Trump’s administration has severely disrupted a global trading system based on equal treatment and rules of conduct. She says the country must be prepared for a future that sees significantly reduced trade with America, which will make the global trading system more competitive.

# Six family members, including children, died in a shack fire in the Marikana informal settlement in Kwa Thema on the Gauteng East Rand this morning. Seven family members were asleep when the fire erupted, trapping them all inside. Ekurhuleni Emergency Services spokesperson, William Ntladi, says when they arrived, they found the four-room shack engulfed in flames, while community members attempted to douse it:

# US president Trump has criticised his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, saying he is surprised that Moscow has intensified its bombardment of Ukrainian cities. This comes after Russia launched 298 drones and 69 missiles into Ukraine, killing 12 people, including children. Trump says he is considering additional sanctions against Russia, warning that Putin’s attempts to conquer all of Ukraine will lead to the downfall of Moscow:

# Soccer: Premier League side Aston Villa have filed an official complaint, accusing referee Thomas Bramall of making a mistake that potentially cost them a place in the Champions League next season. With the match goalless, Bramall disallowed Morgan Rogers’ 73rd-minute goal, deeming that the midfielder fouled Manchester United goalkeeper Altay Bayindir. United went on to win the match 2-0. Villa says with such high stakes surrounding the match, a more experienced referee should have been appointed.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-83-cents and the euro at 20-rand-33-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-21-cents and Bitcoin trades at 110-thousand-157-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-335-dollars-20-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 64-dollars-40-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….