News 07:00

BULLETIN 25 May 7 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# President Ramaphosa’s legal team to file court papers today on the Section 89 panel report
# Thabo Mbeki is hopeful that Ambassador Roelf Meyer can succeed in mending the SA-US relations
# And cricket: The Rajasthan Royals secure the final IPL playoff spot

# President Cyril Ramaphosa’s legal team is reportedly planning to file papers in the Western Cape High Court today, seeking a review of the Section 89 panel report. The Constitutional Court ruled that the National Assembly acted unlawfully when it voted against adopting the report. The report found that Ramaphosa had a case to answer regarding his handling of the 2020 burglary at his Phala Phala farm. Ramaphosa maintains that the report is capable of being reviewed on several grounds, including grave errors of law and unfounded conclusions of fact.

# Former president Thabo Mbeki says he hopes South African Ambassador to the United States, Roelf Meyer, will succeed in mending relations between Pretoria and Washington. Meyer was officially accredited at the White House last Thursday. He is joined in the US by career diplomat Thabo Thage to re-establish the South African embassy. Mbeki told the SABC that he met with Meyer, where they discussed the challenges between the two countries:

# The South African National Christian Forum rejects any attempt by the Parliament Section 22 Committee to impose regulatory frameworks, licences, or state-backed oversight on churches. The CRL Rights Commission established the Parliamentary Section 22 Committee to conduct national consultations to draft a self-regulatory framework, code of ethics, and practice council to curb abuses and harmful practices within the religious sector. Forum leader, Marothi Mashashane, says government and the Commission want to capture the faith sector:

# The DA in Johannesburg has opened a criminal case against the City’s mayoral committee member for Community Development Planning, Thapelo Amad, for discharging a firearm in public. The party’s Belinda Kayser-Echeozonjoku says they recently received information from a reliable source that Amad negligently fired shots into the air in Lufhereng, Soweto. She says at the time, the funeral gathering of the late Nomthandazo Gladys Dladla was taking place:

# Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he and US president Donald Trump have agreed that any final agreement with Iran must eliminate the nuclear danger. The two leaders spoke on the phone over the weekend. This comes as the US and Iran are signalling progress in efforts to resolve the war. Netanyahu says dismantling Iran’s nuclear enrichment sites and removing its enriched nuclear material from its territory is a priority. He added that Trump also reaffirmed Israel’s right to defend itself against threats on every front, including Lebanon.

# Cricket: The Rajasthan Royals secured the fourth and final Indian Premier League playoff spot after defeating former champions the Mumbai Indians by 30 runs. After being put into bat first, the Royals posted 205 for eight in their 20 overs. In reply, despite Suryakumar Yadav top-scoring with 60 from 42 balls, Mumbai were restricted to 175 for nine. Jofra Archer was the pick of the bowlers, taking three wickets. Rajasthan Royals have joined the Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Gujarat Titans, and Sunrisers Hyderabad in the playoffs.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-31-cents and the euro at 18-rand-99-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand and Bitcoin trades at 77-thousand-73-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-574-dollars-71-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 96-dollars-53-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….