News 06:00

BULLETIN 21 April 6 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# France moves to repair ties with South Africa after withdrawing the G7 invitation
# The ANC gives SACP members a deadline to choose which side they will campaign for in the elections
# And rugby: The Bulls believe they can still clinch a URC home quarterfinal

# France is expected to invite president Cyril Ramaphosa for a state visit later this year, following the withdrawal of his invitation to attend the G7 summit. The move is seen as an attempt to ease diplomatic tensions after reports that the invitation was rescinded amid pressure from the US. However, Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya says Ramaphosa is unlikely to take up the offer due to a full schedule, including preparations for local government elections.

# ANC secretary general, Fikile Mbalula, says members of the South African Communist Party will be given ten days to respond on whether they will be campaigning for the ANC or for their party. The SACP has resolved to contest the local government elections independently, outside of the Tripartite Alliance. Mbalula says there will be consequences for those who fail to respond within the ten-day deadline:

Meanwhile, the ANC says the government has, over the past six months since adopting the local government action plan, shifted from a reactive approach to targeted, evidence-based interventions at municipal level. Briefing the media, Mbalula said the focus is now on coordinated, evidence-based interventions rather than reactive responses. He added the plan combines political oversight and technical support across different levels of government to address service delivery challenges more effectively:

# Rating agency Moody’s has placed the City of Johannesburg’s credit rating on review for a possible downgrade, citing concerns over governance and liquidity risks. This follows the suspension of the city’s bonds by the Johannesburg Stock Exchange after delays in publishing audited financial statements on time. According to News24, Moody’s says the decision has weakened market confidence and may restrict the city’s ability to raise new debt or refinance existing obligations.

# Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian says his country maintains deep historical mistrust of the US government. The two-week ceasefire between Tehran and America ends tomorrow, with an unlikely possibility that it will be extended. Pezeshkian criticised what he called unconstructive and contradictory signals from American officials, adding that honouring commitments is the basis of meaningful dialogue. He says war benefits no one, and every rational and diplomatic route should be used to reduce tensions.

# Motorsport: Formula One governing body, the FIA, says several tweaks to the regulations have been agreed to ahead of the Miami Grand Prix next month. This is to appease driver concerns over their safety and certain elements of competition. Some of the changes include energy harvesting and deployment limits for qualifying, power deployment limits in corners to improve safety, and changes to the start procedure. FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem says the changes are to ensure that both safety and competitive fairness are maintained.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-32-cents and the euro at 19-rand-25-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-10-cents and Bitcoin trades at 76-thousand-26-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-831-dollars-18-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 90-dollars-15-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….