News 07:00

BULLETIN 19 April 7 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Israel has reportedly carried out a strike inside Iran
# The DA says the IMF’s projections on SA’s unemployment could result in an economic bloodbath
# And rugby: The citing complaint against the Bulls flanker Cameron Hanekom is dismissed

# 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.

# The Cape Independence Party has expressed disappointment at the Electoral Court dismissing its challenge on why its name failed to appear on the final candidates’ list for the elections. The party was among five applicants who approached the court. Cape Independence Party leader, Jack Miller, says despite submitting a total of eleven-thousand-114 signatures to the Electoral Commission of South Africa, of which over seven-thousand-500 were registered voters in the Western Cape, the court still ruled against them:

# The Association of Private Security Owners of South Africa has threatened legal action against Eskom for alleged bullying and harassment of its members. They accuse the power utility of targeting small black-owned security companies who spoke out against corruption, following their exposure of a fraudulent 500-million-rand tender awarded to Fidelity security services. The association’s spokesperson Sindiswa Changuion warns they will not hesitate to mobilise their members to shut down Eskom’s operation if it continues to punish those who speak out against crime:

# Recent investigations reveal that Nestlé adds sugar to baby food in South Africa and other low- and middle-income countries, contrasting with sugar-free formulations sold in Western markets. A joint probe by Public Eye and the International Baby Food Action Network accuses the multinational company of disregarding health guidelines. Popular brands like Nido and Cerelac show higher sugar content in poorer regions, with up to four grams per serving. Nestlé has defended regional recipe adjustments, claiming no compromise to nutritional integrity.

# The City of Johannesburg says it is acting tough against perpetual defaulters who are running away from their responsibilities of paying what is due. Yesterday the city cut the water supply and electricity connection to large users, including residential estates, hospitals, and a university, who collectively owe more than one-billion-rand in municipal services. This is part of its aggressive Credit Control Campaign. The city’s spokesperson, Nkosana Lekotjolo, says the metro has a growing and unstainable debt of more than 52-billion-rand:

# Rugby: An independent disciplinary committee has dismissed a citing complaint against Bulls flanker Cameron Hanekom, making him available for the Rugby Championship clash against Munster on Saturday. He was cited and yellow carded for a dangerous tackle on inside centre Fraser Dingwall during a defeat by the Northampton Saints in the Champions Cup quarterfinals last week. The committee dismissed the complaint, agreeing that Hanekom had committed an act of foul play but that a red card was not warranted.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 19-rand-30-cents and the euro at 20-rand-50-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-93-cents and Bitcoin trades at 60-thousand-611-dollars-59-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-406-dollars-66-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 90-dollars-57-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….