News 07:00

BULLETIN 29 April 7 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Julius Malema says the EFF will support any motion of no-confidence against president Ramaphosa
# Parliament says South Africa must not align with countries that don’t serve its national interests
# And president Putin announces a three-day ceasefire

# EFF leader Julius Malema says they will support any motion of no-confidence put against president Cyril Ramaphosa over the value-added tax hike controversy. The Western Cape High Court has suspended the planned 0.5-percent VAT increase and has also invalidated Parliament’s adoption of the fiscal framework. Malema says, despite Finance minister Enoch Godongwana’s role in this VAT controversy, Ramaphosa is ultimately to blame:

# Border Management Authority commissioner Michael Masiapato says they have been able to intercept and apprehend a total of six-thousand-253 persons who were attempting to either enter or exit South Africa illegally at 71 ports of entry during the Easter period. This is an increase of 61-percent compared to the 2024 Easter interception of three-thousand-841. Masiapato says out of these six-thousand-253, about four-thousand-795 were undocumented, about one-thousand-055 were undesirable and 403 were found to be inadmissible for various reasons:

# Parliament’s select committee on Economic Development and Trade says South Africa must foster strategic partnerships with countries such as Ukraine, rather than cling to outdated alliances that do not serve the country’s interests. This follows Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky’s first official visit to South Africa last week. The committee’s chairperson, Sonja Boshoff, says building stronger, value-driven bilateral ties is essential to attracting foreign direct investment, expanding export opportunities, and boosting job creation.

# The United Democratic Students’ Movement in the Eastern Cape has welcomed the appointment of retired Justice Chris Jafta to lead the Commission of Inquiry into the shooting incident at Walter Sisulu University last month. A student was killed and two others were injured. UDESMO’s Manyano Njikela says they trust the Commission will carry out its work independently and thoroughly:

# Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced a three-day ceasefire in the war with Ukraine from the eighth to the 11th of May. This coincides with the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Soviet Union in the Second World War. The Kremlin says all hostilities will be suspended during this period; however, any violation of the ceasefire by Ukraine, armed forces will deliver an adequate and effective response. In response, Ukraine’s Foreign minister Andrii Sybiha has called for an immediate ceasefire lasting at least 30 days.

# Rugby: Springbok lock RG Snyman has returned to full training ahead of Leinster’s semifinal clash against Northampton Saints in the Champions Cup on Saturday. The World Cup winner sustained a leg injury in the clash against Ulster a fortnight ago. Leinster head coach Leo Cullen says Snyman is available for selection after recovering from the injury. Ireland international forward Ryan Baird is also back in contention for selection, having come through the game at the weekend with no issues after his return from injury.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-50-cents and the euro at 21-rand-10-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-84-cents and Bitcoin trades at 95-thousand-17-dollar-70-cents. Gold sells at three-thousand-331-dollars-90-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 64-dollars-54-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….