News 08:00

BULLETIN 24 April 8 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The DA confirms its VAT talks with minister Godongwana
# Action Society demands the withdrawal of the security regulations
# And Israel launches a wave of airstrikes in Gaza

# The DA has confirmed that lawyers acting for the minister of Finance,  Enoch Godongwana, have approached the party proposing an out-of-court settlement. This is concerning the High Court matter the DA brought to interdict the VAT increase. Meanwhile, Godongwana has released a statement, saying that he has decided to reverse the decision to hike the value-added tax rate by 0.5 percentage points. The DA’s Federal Council chairperson, Helen Zille, says they will be meeting a high-level ANC delegation today:

# Action Society calls for the immediate withdrawal of proposed changes to private security regulations, warning they could put public safety at serious risk. They argue the draft rules would weaken vital security services, especially in high-crime areas where the police are often under-resourced. The organisation’s spokesperson, Juanita du Preez, says disarming tactical units, which often respond to violent crimes and gender-based violence, is unacceptable:

# The ANC in Gauteng has expressed concern about another fire that broke out at the Tembisa Provincial Tertiary Hospital on Wednesday. The blaze affected the outpatient area. Meanwhile, the hospital’s newly renovated accident and emergency unit went up in smoke on Saturday. The hospital remains a crime scene as forensic teams comb through the rubble to find the causes of the two separate fires. The ANC says all relevant authorities and institutions must expeditiously conduct a thorough investigation into these apparent patterns of fire outbreaks.

# Intense Israeli bombings hit several areas of Gaza on Wednesday, killing 25 people, including eleven at a school sheltering displaced people in al-Tuffah. Israeli officials say fighters from Hamas and allied factions hide behind civilian infrastructure, claims that the Palestinian militant group denies. Israel has renewed its aerial and ground campaign since the collapse of a two-month-old ceasefire and hostage and prisoner release swap in mid-March. More than 51-thousand-300 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s retaliatory offensive after the 7 October 2023 Hamas attack.

# Cricket: Rohit Sharma starred with the bat as the Mumbai Indians beat the Sunrisers Hyderabad by seven wickets to record their fourth consecutive win in the Indian Premier League. Trent Boult took four wickets as the Sunrisers were restricted to 143 for eight. In reply, Sharma top-scored with 70 off 46 balls as Mumbai cruised to victory in just 15.4 overs to move to third place on the log. Sunrisers remain in ninth, having won two and lost six of their eight games.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-65-cents and the euro at 21-rand-16-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-76-cents and Bitcoin trades at 93-thousand-221-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-336-dollars-39-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 65-dollars-13-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….