News 08:00

BULLETIN 15 May 8 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# President Ramaphosa will meet president Trump next week
# President Putin won’t be attending the Ukraine peace talks today
# And soccer: Mamelodi Sundowns secure their 8th successive PSL title

# President Cyril Ramaphosa will embark on a four-day working visit to the US next Monday until Thursday. The Presidency says Ramaphosa will meet with his counterpart, Donald Trump, at the White House, in Washington, on Wednesday, to discuss bilateral, regional and global issues of interest. It adds that the president’s visit provides a platform to reset the strategic relationship between the two countries. Ramaphosa’s visit comes after 49 white Afrikaners, the first beneficiaries of Trump’s controversial resettlement programme, arrived in the US on Monday.

# The EFF is calling on the Trade, Industry, and Competition minister, Parks Tau, to appear before Parliament to account for reports relating to the planned awarding of the National Lottery operating licence to the Gold Rush Consortium. After a lengthy and controversial bidding process, the minister is reportedly negotiating with the consortium for the eight-year licence to operate the national lottery. The EFF’s spokesperson, Sinawo Tambo, says the owners of the consortium are alleged to have links to the hierarchy in the ANC:

# KwaZulu-Natal premier, Thami Ntuli has urged provincial government departments and municipalities to lead the way by banking and transacting with Ithala. The bank has not been trading since January 16, when the Reserve Bank’s Prudential Authority lodged a court application for it to be liquidated, citing insolvency and regulatory noncompliance. Last week, a court ruling permitted the institution to resume partial operations. Ntuli says Ithala is not just a bank, but a beacon of the collective struggle for economic justice and dignity:

# Russian president, Vladimir Putin, will not attend peace talks with his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, in Istanbul, Turkey, today. The Kremlin says its delegation will be led by presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, who led the only previous round of direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine in 2022. US president Donald Trump will also not be attending, despite previously hinting he would if Putin were present. In Istanbul, Ukraine is expected to call for a full 30-day ceasefire as a starting point for further talks.

# Soccer: Mamelodi Sundowns have been crowned 2024/2025 Premiership champions after defeating Chippa United 3-0 at Buffalo City Stadium in East London. Two goals by Arthur Sales and one from Iqraam Rayners saw Masandawana complete the double over United to claim their eighth straight title and 15th overall. The win also ensures they will end with over 70 points in the league for the third season in succession. Head coach Miguel Cardoso from Portugal becomes the first non-South African coach to win the title in ten-years.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-24-cents and the euro at 20-rand-42-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-22-cents and Bitcoin trades at 103-thousand-880-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-149-dollars-68-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 64-dollars-21-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….