News 09:00

BULLETIN 5th May 9 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The budget is on the agenda of the ANC’s national working committee meeting today
# The FF Plus says Orania and Kleinfontein pose no threat to South Africa
# And Donald Trump extends his trade war to the cinema

# ANC secretary general Fikile Mbalula says the government of national unity and the budget will be on the agenda when the national officials and the national working committee meet today. This is as Finance minister Enoch Godongwana is preparing to table the national budget for the third time in Parliament on May 21st. Briefing the media after a by-election campaign in Freedom Park, Soweto on Sunday, Mbalula says they will be having discussions on the budget until it is tabled:

# The Freedom Front Plus says Afrikaner cultural communities, such as Orania and Kleinfontein, pose no threat to South Africa; on the contrary, they contribute to the country’s growth. Kleinfontein, east of Pretoria, has recently faced growing public attention, with both the EFF and MK Party expressing outrage over its continued segregationist policies. FF Plus’, Jaco Mulder, says South Africa is a diverse country with a plethora of cultural communities, which should be allowed to coexist peacefully:

# Transport minister Barbara Creecy says her department, through the Road Traffic Management Corporation, is investigating the cause of an accident that claimed the lives of 15 people and injured five others in the Eastern Cape over the weekend. The head-on collision involving a fully loaded minibus taxi and a bakkie occurred on the R63 road between Adelaide and Maqoma, Fort Beaufort. The department’s spokesperson, Collen Msibi, says a preliminary report is expected soon:

# US president Donald Trump says he has instructed the Commerce Department and the US Trade Representative to place a 100-percent tariff on films that are produced outside America and imported into the country. According to FilmLA, film and television production in Los Angeles has fallen by nearly 40-percent over the last decade. In a post on Truth Social, Trump says the US film industry was dying a very fast death due to the incentives that other countries were offering to draw American filmmakers.

# Tennis: Norwegian Casper Ruud has won the Madrid Open, his maiden ATP Masters 1000 title. The 26-year-old battled past British number one Jack Draper, 7-5, 3-6, 6-4, to win the biggest title of his career. Draper misses out on a second Masters 1000 title in two months after winning in Indian Wells in March. Ruud, who will move up to seventh in the world rankings, says it’s an incredible feeling to accomplish one of his goals:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-36-cents and the euro at 20-rand-81-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-40-cents and Bitcoin trades at 94-thousand-55-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-255-dollars-19-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 58-dollars-87-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….