News 08:00

BULLETIN 14 May 8 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# International Relations is focused on the repatriation of some of the George victims
# Minister Lamola reopens the inquest into the apartheid-era death of Chief Albert Luthuli
# And the US says Israel has gathered enough troops on the edge of Rafah for an invasion

# Deputy minister of International Relations, Alvin Botes, is calling on the private sector to assist families who lost their loved ones in the George building collapse with funds to repatriate the deceased. Of the 81 workers who were on site when the collapse happened last week Monday, 32 have died and 20 are still unaccounted for. Botes says some of the deceased workers are from Zimbabwe, Malawi and Mozambique:

Meanwhile, Western Cape MEC of Infrastructure Tertuis Simmers says the provincial government has launched an independent investigation into the George building collapse. Simmers says they want to make sure that they fully investigate and understand what happened so that a tragedy like this does not occur on any construction site in the province. He adds that the independent investigator at this stage is still busy with information and fact-finding processes.

# Justice and Correctional Services minister Ronald Lamola says an inquest into the death of former ANC president and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Chief Albert Luthuli will be reopened. Luthuli died on the 21st of July 1967, with the official report stating he was hit by a train near Gledthrow station in KwaZulu-Natal. An inquest in 1967 found no criminal culpability on the part of South African Railways or anyone else. Lamola says the interest of justice can never be bound by time as the truth must prevail.

# The US says it has assessed that Israel has amassed enough troops on the edge of the city of Rafah in Gaza, to move forward with a full-scale incursion in the coming days. Officials estimate that as many as 500-thousand people have fled Rafah since being told to evacuate by the Israel Defence Forces last week. White House National Security adviser, Jake Sullivan, says they have urged Israel to connect their military operations to a clear end game for their ongoing war against Hamas:

# Tennis: Defending champion Daniil Medvedev is through to the Italian Open round of 16. The Russian battled past Serbia’s Hamad Medjedovic, 7-6, 2-6, 7-5, as he seeks to defend a tour-level title for the first time. Medvedev will face American 14th seed Tommy Paul, who beat Dominik Koepfer of Germany in straight sets. Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas continued his impressive clay-court season with a, 6-2, 7-6, victory over Britain’s Cameron Norrie. Denmark’s Holger Rune and Russian Andrey Rublev have been knocked out of the tournament.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-35-cents and the euro at 19-rand-81-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-6-cents and Bitcoin trades at 62-thousand-517-dollars-43-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-343-dollars-3-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 83-dollars-44-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….