News 08:00

BULLETIN 20 May 8 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The acting Police minister says the work of the Madlanga Commission helps with police accountability
# The DA is worried about three-thousand cancelled surgeries at the Charlotte Maxeke Hospital
# And soccer: Arsenal end a 22-year wait for the Premier League title

# Acting Police minister Firoz Cachalia says the work of the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry is supporting efforts to strengthen accountability within policing. The commission is investigating criminality, political interference, and corruption in the criminal justice system, arising from allegations made by KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi in July 2025. Cachalia says most of the recent arrests and criminal charges against senior police officers are the result of investigations that predate the Madlanga Commission:

# MK Party leader Jacob Zuma has suspended the membership of Nhlamulo Ndlela, pending the outcome of an internal investigation. This comes after he was removed as the party’s national spokesperson following accusations that he misrepresented the MK Party at the launch of their new Leadership Institute. Ndlela faces allegations of misconduct, sowing divisions, and bringing the party into disrepute. He has been ordered to refrain from representing the MK Party in any capacity and to return all party property, including laptops, documents, access, and membership cards.

# The DA in Gauteng says more than three-thousand surgeries have been cancelled at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital since January last year. According to the party, one in four scheduled operations were called off, leaving patients facing long delays and growing backlogs. The DA’s Jack Bloom says Orthopaedics has the biggest backlog, with more than one-thousand patients waiting up to 18 months, while nearly 500 children are also still on the waiting list:

# At least 19 people, including four women and three children, have been killed in Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon. This comes less than a week after a US-brokered ceasefire agreement between Lebanon and Israel was extended by 45 days. The Israeli military says over the past two days it has targeted more than 25 sites of the Iran-backed armed Shia Islamist group Hezbollah infrastructure in southern Lebanon. The total death toll in Lebanon since March second when the fighting resumed between Israel and Hezbollah, has surpassed three-thousand.

# Soccer: Arsenal have been crowned Premier League champions for the first time in 22 years. The Gunners’ long wait for the title ended after Manchester City drew 1-1 against Bournemouth on Tuesday evening, leaving City four points adrift of Mikel Arteta’s side. Arsenal’s success follows three consecutive seasons in which they finished as runners-up. Arteta becomes the first former Premier League player to win the trophy as a manager. Arsenal will be presented with the trophy after their final game of the season at Crystal Palace on Sunday.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-72-cents and the euro at 19-rand-39-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-39-cents, and Bitcoin trades at 76-thousand-614-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-461-dollars-85-cents a fine ounce, and Brent crude oil is quoted at 107-dollars-31-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….