News 17:00

BULLETIN 28 May 5 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Reserve Bank raises the repo rate to 7-percent as inflation pressures intensify
# Julius Malema says anti-immigrant tensions is Afrophobia created by colonialism
# And: Meta announces enhanced paid subscriptions for Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp

# The South African Reserve Bank has increased the repo rate by 25 basis points to seven-percent due to rising inflation risks. Rising global oil prices, ongoing geopolitical tensions and recent flooding have weakened the country’s economic outlook and pushed inflation higher. Governor Lesetja Kganyago says inflation rose to four-percent in April, driven mainly by fuel and transport costs, while growth forecasts for the next two years have been revised down:

# EFF leader Julius Malema has condemned recent anti-immigrant protests as Afrophobia, saying they reflect divisions created by colonialism. Speaking in Pretoria, Malema argued that Africans were deliberately divided through colonial systems to weaken continental unity. His comments come amid protests over unemployment, poor service delivery and undocumented immigration. He says frustrations should be directed at inequality and governance failures, warning that hostility towards foreign nationals undermines African solidarity and unity:

# Police are intensifying nationwide operations against illegal immigration through Operation Shanela. Nearly one-thousand-900 undocumented foreigners were arrested in the past week alone for violating immigration laws. Police spokesperson Athlenda Mathe says since January this year, more than 29-thousand illegal foreigners have been arrested during intelligence-driven operations, roadblocks and stop-and-searches. Mathe urged communities to avoid vigilantism and work with law enforcement agencies to fight crime:

# Technology firm Meta has announced the worldwide deployment of paid “Plus” subscription tiers across its primary applications. Head of Product at Meta Platforms, Naomi Gleit, officially revealed the launch of the paid global subscriptions. Instagram Plus and Facebook Plus are priced at about 65-rand per month each, and WhatsApp Plus at around 50-ran. These tiers introduce advanced content analytics, profile customization options, and expanded interface tools for power users. Standard versions of all three services will continue operating under a free, advertising-supported framework.

# Rugby: England’s scrumhalf, Alex Mitchell, is set to miss the start of the inaugural Nations Championship after suffering a hamstring injury during a training camp. He is also likely to be ruled out of the rest of the domestic club season, even if Northampton Saints reaches the Premier League final on June 20. That match takes place two weeks before England faces world champions South Africa in Johannesburg. Fixtures against Fiji in Liverpool and Argentina in Buenos Aires complete the summer leg of England’s Nations Championship campaign.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-30-cents and the euro at 18-rand-97-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-88-cents and Bitcoin trades at 73-thousand-56-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-430-dollars-48-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 94-dollars-1-cent a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….