News 06:00

BULLETIN 12 May 6 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# President Ramaphosa undertakes a working visit to Côte d’Ivoire
# President Zelensky says Russia’s consideration to end the war is a positive sign
# And athletics: Team SA secures three medals at the World Relays in China

# President Cyril Ramaphosa is undertaking a working visit to Côte d’Ivoire, a visit centred on the 12th edition of the Africa CEO Forum taking place in Abidjan today and tomorrow. The theme of this year’s session is Can a New Deal Between State and Private Sector Deliver the Continent a Winning Hand? The presidency says Ramaphosa’s participation at the Africa CEO Forum will allow South Africa to consolidate its position as one of the leading investment destinations in Africa.

# The DA says it will be filing a formal Promotion of Access to Information Act request to Land Reform and Rural Development minister Mzwanele Nyhontso. This is to obtain the reasons behind the minister’s constitutionally alarming regulations which make the disclosure of race a requirement for property transfer. The DA’s Mlindi Nhanha says South Africa should never pass laws or regulations that weaponise race and identity ever again if they are to learn the hard lessons from the past:

 # The UDM in Gauteng says it is unacceptable that while communities continue to suffer from poor service delivery and under-resourced public services, senior officials abuse their positions without consequence. The UDM’s Andile Jabavu says 37-percent of senior officials within the provincial government have failed their lifestyle audits and  this is not just a statistical red flag, but a moral crisis. He says they remain committed to championing a clean, accountable, and people-centred government:

# The Western Cape Department of Education is calling for support to over 37-thousand candidates who will be writing the 2024 May and June National Senior Certificate exams from today. The department’s spokesperson, Bronagh Hammond says 25-thousand-615 candidates will write one or more of their matric exam subjects, to improve or complete subjects they enrolled for in their Grade 12 exams previously. She says a further eleven-thousand-609 candidates will write the exams for their Senior Certificate, which allow adults to complete a high school education:

# Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky says Russian president Vladimir Putin’s consideration of ending the war is a positive sign. Putin has proposed holding direct talks with Kyiv in Turkey on Thursday to remove the root causes of the conflict and establish a long-term, durable peace. This is because Putin has not rejected the US-backed European 30-day ceasefire proposal, which has been offered to start today. Meanwhile, French president Emmanuel Macron says Putin’s proposal was not enough, accusing him of looking for a way out.

# Athletics: The South African quartet of Bayanda Walaza, Sinesipho Dambile, Bradley Nkoana, and Akani Simbine won gold in the men’s 4×100-metres at the World Athletics Relays in Guangzhou, China. Simbine chased down the US anchor, Brandon Hicklin, to hit the line in a time of 37.61-seconds, the fastest time in the world this year. The US settled for second and Canada third. Gaerdeo Isaacs, Udeme Okon, Leendert Koekemoer, and Zakithi Nene won gold for South Africa in the men’s 4×400-metres. The country also secured bronze in the women’s 4×400-metres.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-19-cents and the euro at 20-rand-43-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-20-cents and Bitcoin trades at 103-thousand-995-dollar-15-cents. Gold sells at three-thousand-279-dollars-28-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 64-dollars-23-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….