News 09:00

BULLETIN 21 May 9 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Cosatu and the ACDP welcome the Constitutional Court decision on Zuma
# Iran’s state media confirms the date for the presidential elections
# And golf: Scottie Scheffler’s arraignment is postponed following his arrest during the PGA Championship

# The ACDP says the clarity provided by the Constitutional Court on former president Jacob Zuma’s eligibility to stand for Parliament in next week’s elections was desperately needed. The court ruled that following his 2021 contempt conviction and sentence, Zuma may not be elected to the National Assembly, until five years have passed since the completion of his sentence. ACDP’s, Steve Swart, says the apex court found that the purpose of Zuma’s disqualification is aimed at maintaining the integrity of South Africa’s democratic regime:

Meanwhile, Cosatu has also welcomed the Constitutional Court’s ruling. Cosatu’s, Matthew Parks, says the court’s ruling is another welcome signal that South Africa is turning the corner from the days of state capture and corruption when politicians could behave with impunity:

# The City of Cape Town’s Water and Sanitation Directorate says recent criminal activities underscore the dangers staff face in high-risk areas. Since July last year, teams have faced 22 hijackings in Khayelitsha, Philippi, and Mfuleni, and 52 robberies. Mayoral committee member for Water and Sanitation, Zahid Badroodien, says in the 2023/2024 financial year alone, the city has spent 8.5-million-rand on private security escorts to help protect teams while they deliver services to communities:

# Iranian state news IRNA says elections will take place on the 28th of June to choose a new president following the death of the country’s president, Ebrahim Raisi. He was killed in a helicopter crash in a mountainous area of north-western Iran, along with Foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and seven others. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has declared five days of mourning. Experts believe that the elections are likely to be hastily organised, with poor voter participation.

# Golf: World number one Scottie Scheffler’s arraignment date has been postponed to the third of June. The American was arrested ahead of his second round at the PGA Championship last week Friday, after trying to drive into Valhalla Golf Club in heavy traffic caused by an earlier and unrelated accident. Scheffler was charged with second-degree assault, third-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving, and disregarding traffic signals from an officer. He has denied all charges.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-19-cents and the euro at 19-rand-75-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-12-cents and Bitcoin trades at 71-thousand-11-dollars-76-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-414-dollars-98-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 83-dollars-21-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….