News 07:00

BULLETIN 23 April 7 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Minister Ramokgopa says a new policy paper on electricity reform is being finalised
# The EFF has filed a complaint against the prosecutor in Malema’s firearms case
# And, UK lawmakers approve a lifetime smoking ban for today’s under-18s

# Minister of Electricity and Energy, Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, says a new national electricity pricing policy is in the final stages of development. Eskom’s direct customers were hit with an 8.76-percent electricity tariff increase at the beginning of this month. Municipal customers will be hit with a 9.01-percent increase in July. Ramokgopa says the electricity reform policy paper is a coherent policy statement of the transformation envisaged for the electricity supply industry:

# AfriForum says a Constitutional Court ruling reinforces the separation of powers and limits the overreach of the South African Human Rights Commission. The court unanimously ruled the commission cannot issue binding directives and its findings are only enforceable if made an order of the court. The case stems from a dispute over access to borehole water on a farm in Mpumalanga. AfriForum’s Louis Boshoff welcomed the decision as an important precedent for future cases:

# The EFF has lodged a formal complaint against prosecutor, Joel Cesar, with the National Director of Public Prosecutions. Cesar prosecuted Julius Malema in his firearm case, resulting in the court handing him a five-year prison sentence after he was found guilty of violating guns law. The EFF says Cesar violated the Criminal Procedure Act by unlawfully authorising the return of the firearm in this case to its owner, Adriaan Snyman. The party has accused him of prosecutorial overreach and interference with the proper administration of justice.

# Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky says his country is ready for any format of negotiations with Russia, emphasising that it was a big risk to think that efforts to end the fighting in Kyiv cannot restart until the conflict in Iran ends. He told CNN that the war in Iran has taken the focus away from Moscow’s aggression against his country. Zelensky says world leaders, including president Donald Trump, need to speak to Russian president Vladimir Putin to stop the war:

# Golf: PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp says they will consider additional pathways to bring back LIV Golf League players who might want to return to the circuit. This follows reports that LIV Golf could lose its financial backing from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. Five-time major winner Brooks Koepka left LIV and returned to the PGA Tour in January, under the returning member programme. 2018 Masters champion Patrick Reed is expected to rejoin the Tour in August. Rolapp says he is interested in whatever makes the PGA Tour better.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-45-cents and the euro at 19-rand-27-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-22-cents and Bitcoin trades at 78-thousand-258-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-735-dollars-1-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 96-dollars-97-cents a barrel.

# And finally: Children in Britain who are 17 or younger, ‌and anyone born in the future, will never be able to legally buy cigarettes after lawmakers approved new stricter restrictions on smoking. The Tobacco and Vapes Bill raises the legal age for buying tobacco by one year, every year, starting with people born on or after January 1, 2009, meaning affected age groups face a lifetime ban. The government says the measures will help reduce smoking and prevent young people from becoming addicted to nicotine, easing long-term pressure on the National Health Service.

Stay tuned for more news………….