News 08:00

BULLETIN 21 May 8 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Johann Rupert says Ernie Els convinced Trump to meet with Ramaphosa
# The US Secretary of State defends the refugee status of white Afrikaners
# And the FF Plus commends the swift police action following a shooting incident

# Renowned businessman Johann Rupert says golfer Ernie Els was the person who, over the past month, talked US president Donald Trump into agreeing to a meeting with president Cyril Ramaphosa. Rupert and Els will reportedly join Ramaphosa’s delegation when he meets Trump in the White House today. News24 reports that in an interview, Rupert said this meeting is a buildup that started in 2023, when a group of Republican and Democratic lawmakers proposed legislation to review the US relationship with South Africa, as punishment for its ties with Russia.

# US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has defended the Trump administration’s decision to give refugee status to white Afrikaners. President Donald Trump has falsely asserted that white farmers in South Africa are undergoing genocide and deserve special status. This is despite him suspending the US’s refugee resettlement programme in January. Appearing before the Senate Foreign Relations committee, Rubio says they will prioritise people coming into the US based on what’s in the interests of America:

# The Freedom Front Plus in Gauteng has commended the swift action of the police following a shooting incident in the business district of Meyerton on Tuesday. According to police, two rival security companies exchanged gunfire, wounding one person. Ten AK-47 assault rifles and a pistol were recovered in and around the taxi rank. Three suspects have been arrested. FF Plus’, Jaco Mulder, says the quick response by the police and emergency services prevented further harm:

# Soccer: Manchester City defeated Bournemouth 3-1 to close in on a place in the Champions League next season. Goals from Omar Marmoush, Bernardo Silva and Nico Gonzalez helped move Pep Guardiola’s men to third in the Premier League table. Dan Jebbison grabbed a late consolation, but the defeat ends Bournemouth’s hopes of qualifying for Europe next season. City have 68 points with one game remaining, two points above Newcastle United, Chelsea and Aston Villa, in the chase for a top-five finish and Champions League qualification.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-89-cents and the euro at 20-rand-26-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-2-cents and Bitcoin trades at 106-thousand-982-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-304-dollars-3-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 65-dollars-81-cents a barrel.

# And finally, South African educator Nadine Smith has won the 2025 EDGE in Tech Athena Award for Early Career Leadership. Honoured at a special ceremony at the University of California, Berkeley, Smith was recognised for her groundbreaking work in transforming Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics education, to be more inclusive and accessible. A Coding and Robotics educator at ADvTECH, she was one of only four global recipients and the only African.

Stay tuned for more news………….