News 08:00
BULLETIN 19 April 8 am
Good morning. I am……..
In this bulletin:
# It is 40 days until the much anticipated general elections
# The Helen Suzman Foundation rejects the finalisation of the white paper on the migration policy
# And Israel has reportedly carried out a strike inside Iran
# Today marks 40 days until South Africa holds its seventh democratic general election on the 29th of next month. Thirty-one political parties will contest the national polls for the first time. A recent survey conducted by the African Innovation Research South Africa in Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Durban, found that the EFF and the MK Party will be a threat in the elections. The survey found that about 20-percent of participants said they would vote for the EFF, 18.4-percent for the ANC, 17-percent for the MK Party, and 13.3-percent for the DA.
# The Helen Suzman Foundation says it is dismayed by Cabinet’s decision to adopt as final the white paper on Citizenship, Immigration and Refugee Protection. The white paper on the migration policy was gazetted earlier this week. The foundation’s acting executive director, Naseema Fakir, argues that the white paper provides a confusing solution without properly defining the challenges that migration poses to South Africa:
# KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Bongi Sithole-Moloi, says there is an urgent need to enhance the province’s preparedness for extreme weather conditions. Five people died during torrential rains that hit Margate recently. The MEC says since 2019, the province has recorded more than 500 fatalities, with more than 12-thousand houses destroyed, due to extreme weather conditions. Sithole-Moloi says the National Disaster Management Centre has approved a rehabilitation and reconstruction municipal grant of 253-million-rand for 12 municipalities.
# Israel has reportedly launched a strike against Iran. According to reports from the Iranian state-run IRNA news agency, multiple explosions were heard in the central province of Isfahan. The province is home to a major military air base and several Iranian nuclear sites. Tensions remain high in the wider Middle East after Iran’s unprecedented missile-and-drone attack on Israel. Yesterday, Iran’s Foreign minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, warned that his country’s response to any retaliation by Israel would be immediate and at a maximum level.
# Tennis: Defending champion Iga Swiatek of Poland will face Britain’s Emma Raducanu in the quarterfinals of the Stuttgart Open. Swiatek defeated Belgium’s Elise Mertens, 6-3, 6-4, to reach the quarterfinals for the third straight year. Raducanu needed 81 minutes to beat Czech teenager Linda Noskova, 6-0, 7-5. Italy’s Jasmine Paolini stunned Tunisian seventh seed Ons Jabeur in straight sets. Raducanu, who had an injury-hit season last year, says she is happy to be playing well again:
# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 19-rand-24-cents and the euro at 20-rand-46-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-90-cents and Bitcoin trades at 61-thousand-841-dollars-83-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-389-dollars-10-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 89-dollars-3-cents a barrel.
Stay tuned for more news………….