News 07:00

BULLETIN 19 May 7 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Julius Malema says president Ramaphosa will be ill-treated in the US
# Standard and Poor affirms South Africa’s credit rating on a positive outlook
# And tennis: Carlos Alcaraz beats Jannik Sinner to secure his first Italian Open title

# EFF leader Julius Malema says president Cyril Ramaphosa will be ill-treated and won’t be given the necessary respect on his working visit to the US this week. Ramaphosa will meet with US president Donald Trump on Wednesday, where they will discuss bilateral, regional, and global issues of interest. The visit is also set to provide a platform to reset the strategic relationship between the two countries. Malema says Pretoria and Washington will never co-exist due to different geo-political ideologies:

# Standard and Poor’s has affirmed South Africa’s credit ratings at sub-investment grade BB for foreign currency, and BB for local currency. Experts say the outlook remains positive, reflecting hope for a future upgrade if reforms continue. Despite fiscal consolidation efforts, risks like slow growth and rising debt, projected to average 80-percent of gross domestic product remain. The credit rating agency forecasts 1.5-percent average GDP growth over three years, supported by reforms such as Operation Vulindlela.

# The EFF will lead what it terms a VAT Victory March to the National Treasury in Pretoria today. The party says this is in celebration of the people’s victory against the anti-poor, proposed value-added-tax increase. Last month, Finance minister Enoch Godongwana scrapped the VAT hike that was proposed in the national budget. Meanwhile, the South African Student Congress in Tshwane will be marching to the Department of Higher Education today, demanding intervention in matters of students to get funding from the National Student Financial Aid Scheme.  

# Forum for South Africa says it is deeply disturbed by the National Prosecuting Authority’s decision not to prosecute the rape case of 7-year-old Cwecwe. The group blames police delays and contaminated evidence, saying justice has failed. FOSA leader Tebogo Mashilompane insists the child was examined and confirmed raped by a doctor. He says that FOSA demands answers, warning that public trust is being eroded:

# Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has thanked Pope Leo the 14th for his support for Ukraine and for being a clear voice in defence of a just and lasting peace. The new Catholic leader met with Zelensky privately following his inauguration mass on Sunday. Last week, the pontiff offered the Vatican as a venue for possible peace talks between Zelensky and Russian president Vladimir Putin. Zelensky says the authority and voice of the Pope can play an important role in bringing this war to an end.

# Tennis: Twenty-two-year-old Carlos Alcaraz has won the Italian Open title for the first time in his career, and his third title of 2025. The Spaniard defeated world number one Jannik Sinner of Italy, 7-6, 6-1, to claim his seventh ATP Masters 1000 title. Meanwhile, Italian Jasmine Paolini defeated American Coco Gauff, 6-4, 6-2, ending a 40-year wait for a home winner of the women’s singles. Alcaraz says it is always a tough battle when he plays against Sinner:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-4-cents and the euro at 20-rand-16-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-97-cents and Bitcoin trades at 104-thousand-906-dollar-70-cents. Gold sells at three-thousand-232-dollars-72-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 65-dollars-22-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….