News 08:00

BULLETIN 9 April 8 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Chief Justice Zondo says the attacks on the judiciary are unwarranted
# The MK Party criticises the retrenchments at the South African Post Office
# And millions in Mexico, the US and Canada have witnessed a total solar eclipse

# Chief Justice Raymond Zondo says the attacks on the independence of the judiciary and its role in democracy are unwarranted. Former president Jacob Zuma and EFF leader Julius Malema are some of the individuals who have attacked the judiciary, accusing judges of being politically influenced. In an exclusive interview on eNCA, Zondo says the attacks on the judiciary are from people with personal agendas and who sought to delegitimise its work:

# The uMkhonto we Sizwe party says the retrenchment of four-thousand-700 South African Post Office staff is not only cold-hearted but also recklessly timed. The job cuts are less than the six-thousand initially planned after consultation with unions at the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation, and Arbitration. The Post Office will be left with six-thousand-383 staff, down from eleven-thousand-and-83. The MK party says these retrenchments are indicative of a broader pattern of systemic disinvestment and dismantling of state-owned enterprises under the guise of the ANC government.

# Johannesburg Water has launched an internal investigation into the death of a four-year-old boy. He passed away after falling into an excavation site in the Clay Oven informal settlement at the weekend. Mayoral committee member for Environment and Infrastructure Services, Jack Sekwaila, will be meeting the boy’s family today. He says they are fully cooperating with law enforcement authorities.

# Soccer: England’s Premier League deducted another two points from Everton for a breach of the profitability and sustainability rules. The decision leaves the club just two points above the relegation zone after receiving a six-point penalty earlier. The league says the latest penalty was imposed after Everton admitted it breached its allowed spending of a 3.4-billion-rand loss over three seasons by 390-million-rand. The club ascribes this to factors such as the loss of a sponsorship due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-63-cents and the euro at 20-rand-23-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-58-cents and Bitcoin trades at 71-thousand-465-dollars-63-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-343-dollars-74-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 90-dollars-62-cents a barrel.

# And, finally: Millions across Mexico, the US, and Canada witnessed a total solar eclipse yesterday. It is estimated that 32-million people were in the path of totality, where the moon moved between the earth and the sun, extinguishing its light in a total solar eclipse. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration deputy head, Pam Melroy, says the eclipse was an opportunity for scientists to collect data and study the earth, moon, and sun in different ways:

Stay tuned for more news………….