News 06:00

BULLETIN 24 April 6 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Constitutional Court directs Zuma and the MK Party to file affidavits against the Election Commission’s appeal
# A prosecutor says Trump is in contempt of court after he attacks witnesses
# And rugby: Cheslin Kolbe could be the Boks’ flyhalf in the Twickenham Test against Wales

# The Constitutional Court has issued a directive in the Electoral Commission’s bid to appeal the Electoral Court order regarding former president Jacob Zuma’s candidacy. Respondents including former president Jacob Zuma and the MK Party have been directed to file their answering affidavits by tomorrow. Zuma was initially disqualified by the IEC to run for public office due to his prison sentence after he was found guilty of contempt in 2021. However, the Electoral Court upheld a challenge from Zuma and the MK Party.

# Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, Blade Nzimande, says one of the biggest challenges facing graduates is transitioning from tertiary institutions to the workplace. The minister has stressed the importance of the Sector Education and Training Authority’s role in this transition. Nzimande says SETA must focus on six high-impact areas including helping in reducing unemployment amongst graduates, infrastructure and rural development, and holistic digitisation:

# Gauteng Police Commissioner, Tommy Mthombeni, says all systems are in place to ensure the elections are held in a safe environment. There are two-thousand-797 voting stations in 529 wards in Gauteng. Of these, 168 have been categorised as high risk and 377 as medium risk. Mthombeni says intelligence structures within the police have been hard at work since the announcement of the May 29 election date:

# Prosecutors have accused Donald Trump of brazenly violating a gag order imposed by the judge presiding over his “hush money” trial to prevent him from intimidating witnesses. Prosecutor Chris Conroy told Judge Juan Merchan Trump’s attacks on witnesses clearly violate the order and asked him to determine whether the former president should be held in contempt of court. Trump is charged with falsifying business records to buy the silence of porn star Stormy Daniels over a 2006 sexual encounter that could have impacted his 2016 presidential bid.

# Rugby: Rumours are winger Cheslin Kolbe could be entrusted with the Springboks’ number ten jersey when the world champions play Wales at Twickenham on the 22nd of June. The match falls outside the official Test window, meaning players based in Britain, Ireland, and France won’t be available. This will keep flyhalves Handré Pollard and Manie Libbok out of contention. Kolbe was the backup scrumhalf in the World Cup final against the All Blacks, and he and number nine Faf de Klerk both have prior experience at flyhalf.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 19-rand-8-cents and the euro at 20-rand-44-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-78-cents and Bitcoin trades at 66-thousand-782-dollars-52-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-320-dollars-10-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 88-dollars-34-cents a barrel.

# And finally: Thirty-two recipients including anti-apartheid activist Peter Cyril Jones and the Netherlands’s Fulco van Aurich will receive national orders at a ceremony next week Tuesday. National Orders are the highest awards the president gives citizens and eminent foreign nationals. The late Jones, a founding member of the Black Consciousness Movement, will receive the Order of Luthuli in Gold. Van Aurich will receive the Order of the Companions of OR Tambo in Silver for his contribution to promoting awareness of human rights violations by the apartheid government.

Stay tuned for more news………….