News 07:00

BULLETIN 7 May 7 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Public Protector says the investigation into minister Mchunu is progressing
# Rugby: The Lions say they are in Dublin to win
# And, the media mogul who founded CNN, Ted Turner, has died

# The Public Protector’s office says the investigation into suspended Police minister Senzo Mchunu is ongoing and continues to make steady progress. The African Transformation Movement made a formal request to the Public Protector last year to investigate Mchunu’s conduct. This was after KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi made damning allegations of executive misconduct and political interference against the minister. The Public Protector has admitted that the investigation has faced setbacks due to the limited availability of key witnesses. However, it maintains that investigators are making headway.

# The DA will present its Economic Inclusion for All Bill for its first reading in Parliament today. Party policy head Mat Cuthbert says Black Economic Empowerment has failed to deliver broad inclusion after 30 years, benefiting a small elite while millions remain excluded. He says the Bill replaces race-based rules with an outcomes-driven system focused on jobs, investment, skills, and small business growth, while strengthening anti-corruption accountability:

# Farmer-led initiative FMD Response SA says the probability of failure under the government’s current foot-and-mouth disease vaccination strategy is between 90 and 95-percent. The government aims to vaccinate 80-percent of the country’s cattle by December. FMD Response SA chairman, Stephen Butt, told Business Day TV that the only way to stop the disease spreading is to ensure the country’s 14-million cattle are vaccinated within a tight timeframe of six to eight weeks to ensure immunity to the virus:

# The United Nations Human Rights Office has called on Israel to immediately release two members of the Global Sumud Flotilla detained in international waters. Saif Abukeshek and Thiago de Avila were among dozens of activists who had set sail for Gaza as part of the flotilla, which was intercepted by Israeli forces in international waters off Greece on April 30th. Among about 180 activists, just these two were taken to Israel, where they remain in jail. The UN says Israel must halt practices that violate international human rights standards.

# Rugby: The Lions say they are in Dublin to beat Irish powerhouse Leinster in their United Rugby Championship group match on Saturday, despite being regarded as the underdogs. The Johannesburg team is currently third on the log and only needs another league point to qualify for the quarterfinals for the very first time. They won their last six matches. Defence coach Jaque Fourie says the players are focused, knowing it’s tough to tour in Ireland and to play one of the world’s oldest clubs.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-34-cents and the euro at 19-rand-23-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-24-cents and Bitcoin trades at 81-thousand-271-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-712-dollars-89-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 99-dollars-94-cents a barrel.

# And finally: Media mogul and philanthropist, Ted Turner, who founded CNN, has died at the age of 87. The Ohio-born Atlanta businessman pioneered the modern 24-hour news culture when he launched the CNN channel in 1980. Turner was hailed as a visionary and earned TIME Magazine’s “Man of the Year” in 1991. In 2018, he revealed that he had Lewy body dementia, a progressive brain disorder. CNN CEO Mark Thompson has described Turner as visionary and a force of nature:

Stay tuned for more news………….