News 07:00

BULLETIN 23 May 7 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Paul Mashatile promotes liaison with South African businesses in France
# The EFF rejects the Economic Regulation of Transport Amendment Act
# And rugby: Cane, O’Mahony, and Murray are named in the Barbarians squad to face the Springboks

# Deputy president Paul Mashatile has emphasised the importance of intensified business-to-business efforts between South Africa and France. Mashatile met with French president Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée Palace, following a successful SA-France Investment Conference. Mashatile confirmed that the high-level talks focused on boosting bilateral trade, investment opportunities, and multilateral cooperation noting a recent trade decline. Macron welcomed deeper ties and confirmed attendance at the G20 Summit in South Africa.

# The EFF says it rejects the Economic Regulation of Transport Amendment Act in its current form. The act seeks to promote economic growth and the welfare of South Africans by promoting an effective and productive transport sector. That includes establishing a Transport Economic Regulator responsible for regulating prices in the transport sector, investigating complaints, and monitoring and enforcing compliance in the transport sector. The EFF’s, Sharon Letlape, says this Act is a trojan horse for privatisation:

# The National Prosecuting Authority remains confident in its case against former Free State premier Ace Magashule’s personal assistant at the time, Moroadi Cholota, in the 255-million-rand asbestos corruption trial. NPA national spokesperson Mthunzi Mhaga stated sufficient evidence was presented to dismiss Cholota’s special plea challenging her prosecution in the trial-within-a-trial, addressing jurisdictional concerns:

# The DA says the dysfunctional criminal justice system is failing communities on the Cape Flats in Cape Town, with a shockingly low five-percent conviction rate for illegal firearm cases. According to the party, investigative and prosecutorial failures are hampering efforts to fight gangsterism. They plan to summon the National Prosecuting Authority to Parliament. The DA’s Glynnis Breytenbach warns without urgent reforms and stronger collaboration between police and prosecutors, the violence will continue to plague vulnerable communities.

# The United Nations World Food Programme has warned that it’s in a race against time to prevent widespread starvation in Gaza. More than 90 lorry loads of humanitarian aid have been collected by UN teams inside the Gaza Strip, days after Israel eased an eleven-week-long blockade. The WFP’s deputy executive director, Carl Skau, told Al Jazeera that food, enough to feed the entire population for two months, is pre-positioned at aid corridors and ready to be brought into Gaza at scale:

# Rugby: Former New Zealand captain, Sam Cane, and Ireland greats, Peter O’Mahony and Conor Murray, have been revealed as the first players included in the Barbarians squad to play South Africa in Cape Town next month. The trio, who have 352 international caps to their name, will be representing the Barbarians for the first time. Barbarians head coach, Robbie Deans, says his squad will be a blend of high-profile global international stars and other standout performers from European clubs, Super Rugby and the Japanese league.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-97-cents and the euro at 20-rand-32-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-16-cents and Bitcoin trades at 111-thousand-280-dollar. Gold sells at three-thousand-298-dollars-42-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 64-dollars-17-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….