News 09:00

BULLETIN 14 May 9 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Six of the 32 victims in George have been identified
# An activist calls for an apology after the burning of the Constitution
# And swimming: The Anti-doping Agency holds an extraordinary meeting about the Chinese swimmers

# The George Municipality says the Forensic Pathology Service and the police are proactively expediting the identification of the workers who died in last week’s building collapse. Thirty-two have died while 20 are still unaccounted for. The municipality says six of the deceased have been positively identified through fingerprints, DNA testing, and photographs. It adds that it is however experiencing difficulties in obtaining accurate names of the missing individuals or deceased.

Meanwhile, Cosatu is urging the government to move with speed to ensure justice is done for the George building collapse victims, survivors, and their families. Cosatu’s, Matthew Parks, says the police must arrest and haul before the court the employer, and any other person complicit in the malicious violation of labour laws, that led directly to this unprecedented tragedy:

# Education activist Hendrick Makaneta has urged political analyst Xolani Dube to apologise for the burning of the South African Constitution. Recent social media posts purportedly showing Dube burning the Constitution have ignited controversy, with critics arguing it undermines legal protections. According to Makaneta, Dube’s alleged actions contradict constitutional principles, urging respect for its role in upholding democracy and justice. He criticised Dube for undermining constitutional freedom and education opportunities for both locals and foreigners.

# US president Joe Biden has signed a bipartisan bill prohibiting Russian imports of enriched uranium, the main fuel used by nuclear power plants. Russia, the world’s top supplier of enriched uranium, supplies roughly 20-percent of US nuclear fuel. The ban on imports of fuel for nuclear power plants begins in about 90 days. The bipartisan bill provides waivers until 2028 for utilities that would be forced to shut down nuclear reactors once Russian supplies are cut off.

# Swimming: The World Anti-Doping Agency says it will hold an extraordinary on Friday, to discuss the case of 23 Chinese swimmers who tested positive for a prescription heart drug. The organisation came under fire in April, after it was revealed that the swimmers tested positive for trimetazidine, which can enhance performance, ahead of the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, but were still allowed to compete. Wada says it was not in a position to disprove the China Anti-Doping Agency’s findings that contamination was the reason for the failed tests.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-36-cents and the euro at 19-rand-81-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-6-cents and Bitcoin trades at 62-thousand-540-dollars-63-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-343-dollars-20-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 83-dollars-42-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….