News 08:00

BULLETIN 10 May 8 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The ConCourt will hear the Election Commission’s appeal over Zuma today
# The property developer of the George building describes the collapse as unfortunate
# And, tennis: Nadal battles through a tough first round at the Italian Open 

# The Constitutional Court will today hear the Electoral Commission’s appeal seeking clarity on former president Jacob Zuma’s eligibility for Parliament. This follows an Electoral Court ruling overturning the IEC’s decision to reject Zuma’s inclusion in the MK Party’s national list, due to his 15-month contempt of court sentence. The IEC’s deputy CEO, Mawethu Mosery, says  Zuma’s standing for the elections would erode the foundations of the constitutional order and the rule of law:

# Property developer group, Neo Victoria Developments, which was contracted to build the five-storey apartment building that collapsed in George has described the accident as shocking and unfortunate. Thirty-seven workers have been retrieved from the rubble of which eight have died. Forty-four are still unaccounted for. The company says it is clear that nothing said could undo this tragic disaster. It adds that it would be working alongside authorities to determine the cause of the tragedy and will cooperate fully.

Meanwhile, Health minister Joe Phaahla is set to conduct a visit to the site of the tragedy today. The search and rescue operation for people still unaccounted for, is continuing. The department’s spokesperson, Foster Mohale, says the minister will monitor the progress made by health and other authorities, to provide much-needed emergency medical and forensic health services to the victims of the disaster:

# Tennis: Ten-time champion Rafael Nadal is through to the second round of the Italian Open in Rome. The Spaniard fought back from a set down to beat Belgian, Zizou Bergs, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. The 22-time Grand Slam champion is competing in his third consecutive tour-level event, having missed most of last year due to injury. There were also wins for Italian wildcard Fabio Fognini and Britain’s Jack Draper. Nadal says he is not happy with how he played:

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-49-cents and the euro at 19-rand-93-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-15-cents and Bitcoin trades at 62-thousand-884-dollars-80-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-350-dollars-79-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 84-dollars-31-cents a barrel.

# And finally, tributes are pouring following the passing of former Constitutional Court Justice, Yvonne Mokgoro, who has been hailed as a defender of justice and human dignity. The 73-year-old died in hospital yesterday. She stepped back from public engagements in June last year, to focus on her recovery following a car accident. Mokgoro was a member of the first Constitutional Court bench and its first black female judge. Former Public Protector, Thuli Madonsela, says Mokgoro’s passing is a monumental loss to the legal profession and humanity.

Stay tuned for more news………….