News 08:00

BULLETIN 14 May 8 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The speaker of the National Assembly says the 31-member impeachment committee represents inclusivity
# President Ramaphosa appoints 12 judges, including Justice Aubrey Ledwaba as Gauteng Judge President
# And, JD Vance says the US is making progress with Iran peace talks

# National Assembly speaker Thoko Didiza says in determining the composition of the impeachment committee for president Cyril Ramaphosa, she considered not only the constitutional principle of proportional representation but also the need for inclusivity. The committee will be composed of 31 members drawn from the 16 political parties represented in the National Assembly. The ANC has secured the lion’s share of representation with nine seats, followed by the DA with five, MK Party three, and EFF two, while the remaining 12 seats will be shared among smaller parties.

Meanwhile, the MK Party, however, has expressed concern about the composition of the 31-member impeachment committee. The Constitutional Court ordered Parliament to establish an impeachment committee for the president to answer to prima facie evidence about foreign currency stolen from his Phala Phala farm in 2020. The MK Party’s Visvin Reddy told the SABC the committee is rigged in favour of the ANC and its government of national unity allies:

# President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed 12 judges to courts across South Africa. The appointments include Justice Aubrey Ledwaba as Judge President of the Gauteng High Court, and three new judges to the Supreme Court of Appeal. The Western Cape High Court will receive five new judges, and three for the Eastern Cape High Court. The Judicial Service Commission recommended Ledwaba for the position after conducting interviews last month, where he was the only candidate. Ramaphosa says the appointments will ensure courts have the necessary capacity to administer justice.

# US vice president JD Vance says that negotiators are making progress in peace talks with Iran. This is despite president Donald Trump’s dismissal of Tehran’s latest proposal on ending the war, which he called unacceptable. Iran and the US held their first direct talks in Islamabad, Pakistan, shortly after announcing a two-week cease-fire on April 8. However, the talks ended without a resolution. Vance says the administration remains focused on ensuring Iran can never obtain a nuclear weapon:

# Cricket: Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru beat the Kolkata Knight Riders by six wickets to move to the top of the Indian Premier League table. Angkrish Raghuvanshi’s steady 71 anchored KKR to 192 for four. In reply, Virat Kohli scored an unbeaten 105 off 60 balls and shared a 92-run second-wicket partnership with Devdutt Padikkal. RCB reached the winning target with five balls to spare. This defeat for KKR leaves them needing a string of wins in their remaining fixtures to stay in the hunt for the playoffs.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-41-cents and the euro at 19-rand-22-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-20-cents, and Bitcoin trades at 79-thousand-340-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-684-dollars-65-cents a fine ounce, and Brent crude oil is quoted at 103-dollars-23-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….