News 06:00

BULLETIN 7 May 6 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Presidency insists South Africans are not xenophobic
# Minister Tolashe says she did not mislead Parliament
# And, Trump warns Iran to accept a deal to end the war

# The Presidency has dismissed claims that recent protests in South Africa are driven by xenophobia, describing such characterisations as lazy analysis. Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya says the issues are more complex and linked to broader socio-economic challenges, including migration pressures across the continent. Magwenya adds that president Cyril Ramaphosa and Mozambican president Daniel Chapo agree that African countries must work together to address the root causes of migration rather than mislabel the situation:

# Minister of Social Development, Sisisi Tolashe, has denied misleading Parliament about Chinese vehicle donations tied to the ANC Women’s League. She allegedly registered two luxury vehicles, said to have been donated by Chinese officials, in the names of her children rather than the ANC Women’s League. Appearing before Parliament’s portfolio committee on Social Development on Wednesday, Tolashe said when she responded to a written parliamentary question on the donation, she was not being untruthful about their purpose:

# DA’s Johannesburg mayoral candidate Helen Zille says the City of Johannesburg has violated key municipal finance laws and ignored repeated warnings from the National Treasury. In a media briefing, Zille said a letter from Finance minister Enoch Godongwana outlined several breaches, including passing an unfunded budget and failing to prevent irregular and wasteful spending. She warns these breaches are deepening the city’s financial crisis and could trigger further intervention by Treasury:

# The Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry warns that sharp fuel price increases will severely impact Durban’s logistics-driven economy. Petrol has risen by over three-rand per litre, with diesel up more than five-rand per litre, placing pressure on businesses and consumers. Panic buying has also been reported, while motorists say rising fuel costs are pushing them to the financial breaking point. The chamber’s CEO, Palesa Philli, says the hike could lead to job losses as transport costs surge.

# US president Donald Trump has issued a new warning to Iran, saying that if it does not accept a deal to end the war, it will face a new wave of bombing at a much higher intensity than before. Reportedly, the two countries are moving closer to agreeing on a one-page memorandum of understanding to end the war. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said, assuming Iran agrees to a deal, the US military operation will end, and the Strait of Hormuz will be open to all.  

# Cricket: The final of the Indian Premier League will no longer be played in Bengaluru at the end of the month. It had been moved to Ahmedabad because of operational and logistical issues. Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s victory celebrations led to the death of 11 people during a stampede outside the Chinnaswamy Stadium last year, whereafter the local government reviewed safety arrangements before allowing IPL matches there this season. The governing body, BCCI, says they weren’t able to comply with certain requirements and were forced to move the final.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-34-cents and the euro at 19-rand-22-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-25-cents and Bitcoin trades at 81-thousand-377-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-696-dollars-73-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 100-dollars-9-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….