News 09:00

BULLETIN 12 May 9 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# ActionSA calls on Parliament to proceed with the Phala Phala impeachment process against president Ramaphosa
# Iran says its counter-proposal to the US does not contain ‘excessive demands’
# And tennis, Jannik Sinner remains on course to complete the Career Golden Masters

# ActionSA says Parliament must proceed without delay in implementing the Constitutional Court ruling and constituting the Section 89 impeachment committee. This is despite president Cyril Ramaphosa’s decision to launch a review application on the report, which found that he had a case to answer over the theft of cash at his Phala Phala farm in Limpopo. ActionSA’s Lerato Ngobeni says this matter strikes at the heart of public trust in the Presidency and the integrity of constitutional governance:

Meanwhile, the IFP says Parliament remains duty-bound to implement the judgment of the Constitutional Court and to establish the impeachment committee on the Phala Phala matter. Ramaphosa is taking the independent Section 89 panel report on judicial review. The report found that Ramaphosa may have violated his oath of office through his actions in the alleged money cover-up at his Phala Phala farm. The IFP’s  Mkhuleko Hlengwa says the Parliament process must proceed parallel with Ramaphosa’s review application:

# The Freedom Front Plus says Ekurhuleni’s debt crisis is worsening, while many residents are struggling to cope with rising municipal tariffs. According to the party, the municipality’s latest financial report shows outstanding debt of about 38-billion-rand, with most of it long overdue and largely owed by households. The FF Plus’s Denise Janse van Rensburg says the collection rate remains below target, as many residents are unable to pay. Van Rensburg blames billing problems, illegal connections and weak enforcement.

# Iran’s Foreign Ministry says its response to the latest US proposal to end the war did not contain excessive demands. US president Donald Trump rejected Iran’s counterproposal, calling it “totally unacceptable”. The ministry’s spokesperson, Esmail Baghaei, says it’s the US that continues to make unreasonable demands during negotiations over ending the war and reopening the Strait of Hormuz. He told India Today that the core disagreement between Iran and Washington is over the nuclear proposal:

# Tennis: World number one Jannik Sinner is through to the Italian Open round of 16, continuing his bid for a clean sweep of the ATP Masters titles. The Italian defeated Australian Alexei Popyrin, 6-2, 6-0, to set up a clash with his compatriot qualifier Andrea Pellegrino, who beat American Frances Tiafoe, 7-6, 6-1. In the women’s draw, Poland’s Iga Swiatek eased past Japan’s Naomi Osaka, 6-2, 6-1, to make the quarterfinals. There were also wins for American Coco Gauff, Ukrainian Elina Svitolina and Russian eighth seed Mirra Andreeva.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-46-cents and the euro at 19-rand-35-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-35-cents, and Bitcoin trades at 81-thousand-128-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-729-dollars-73-cents a fine ounce, and Brent crude oil is quoted at 102-dollars-63-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….