News 08:00

BULLETIN 8 May 8 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# President Ramaphosa is encouraged by the private sector’s investment in renewable energy
# The Health Department is monitoring four possible hantavirus cases in the Western Cape
# And Olympics: The IOC lifts all restrictions on Belarusian athletes

# President Cyril Ramaphosa says increasing the competitiveness of South African industries will continue to depend on reliable enabling infrastructure in energy and logistics. He delivered the keynote address at the 30th Anniversary of the South 32 Hillside Smelter in KwaZulu-Natal yesterday evening. In the last ten years, the Hillside Aluminium smelter has contributed around 35-billion-rand to South Africa’s gross domestic product. Ramaphosa welcomed the private sector investment in the renewable energy sector, saying it has helped stabilise electricity supply to the national grid:

# The Department of Health says it is monitoring four contact cases in the Western Cape linked to the hantavirus outbreak onboard the MV Hondius cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean. About 150 passengers and crew from 28 countries were initially aboard the vessel, but dozens disembarked on the island of St Helena last month. Three people have died, including a 69-year-old Dutch woman, who had the virus. The department’s spokesperson, Foster Mohale, told News24 that of the four, one individual was presenting symptoms, including fever and a sore throat.

# The EFF in Gauteng says Finance minister Enoch Godongwana’s letter to Johannesburg mayor Dada Morero exposes a metro facing severe financial distress and possible institutional collapse if urgent interventions are not implemented. The minister has threatened to withhold the metro’s grant funding unless it gets its financial affairs in order. The EFF says Johannesburg approved an unfunded 2025/2026 Adjustment Budget despite warnings about revenue-collection failures, over-expenditure, and cash-flow risks. The party is calling for the immediate tabling of a credible financial recovery and stabilisation plan before Council.

# The US Court of International Trade has ruled against president Donald Trump’s latest ten-percent across-the-board global tariffs. The court found the administration lacked the justification to enact tariffs under a 1974 trade law known as Section 122. The ruling is the latest legal setback for Trump’s trade policy, after the US Supreme Court earlier this year ruled the president could not issue tariffs using emergency economic powers. Trump says they will probably appeal the ruling:

# Olympics: The International Olympic Committee has lifted all restrictions on Belarusian athletes. Belarusian and Russian athletes were suspended from Olympic competition after Moscow invaded Ukraine in 2022. Belarusian athletes ⁠can now compete freely under their own flag and anthem. They can also ‌take part in all qualifying events beginning later this year for the Los Angeles 2028 Games. IOC president Kirsty Coventry says restrictions on Russia remain in place following recent sanctions by the World Anti-Doping Agency:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-43-cents and the euro at 19-rand-28-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-28-cents, and Bitcoin trades at 79-thousand-613-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-726-dollars-43-cents a fine ounce, and Brent crude oil is quoted at 99-dollars-24-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….