News 11:00

BULLETIN 14 May 11 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Minister Ntshavheni says there won’t be political interference in the new intelligence agencies
# The Western Cape government is encouraged by the province’s stable unemployment rate
# And US president Donald Trump plans to lift the sanctions on Syria

# Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni says the two new intelligence agencies will be free of political interference. The State Security Agency will be split into two bodies: the Foreign Intelligence Service, to identify threats to national security, and the Domestic Intelligence Agency, responsible for counter-intelligence. This is in a bid to reform the intelligence services and improve oversight and accountability. Ntshavheni says the two new structures will start operating soon:

# The EFF is calling for Home Affairs officials implicated in corruption to be charged with treason. Deputy director-general for Counter Corruption and Security, Conny Moitse, has revealed that at least 805 cases have been investigated over the past three financial years. The most common transgressions are related to fraudulent identity documents and birth registrations. Seventeen officials were identified for irregularly processing and issuing study visas. The EFF has criticised the leniency shown to corrupt officials, saying they can’t just be charged with fraud and corruption.

# The Western Cape government says it is encouraged by the latest quarterly labour force survey data, which shows that the province still has the lowest unemployment rate in South Africa at 19.6-percent in quarter one of 2025. For the third consecutive quarter, the province’s official unemployment rate is below 20-percent. MEC for Agriculture, Economic Development and Tourism, Ivan Meyer, says it is clear the local government’s approach to growing the province’s economy is working:

# US president Donald Trump says he plans to lift the long-standing sanctions on Syria. American sanctions on Syria had been in place for over a decade, meant to apply pressure and economic pain against the dictatorship of former president Bashar al-Assad, who was ousted in December last year. Speaking at the US-Saudi investment conference as part of his four-day trip to the region, Trump said the removal of sanctions will give Syria a chance at greatness:

# Golf: Masters champion Rory McIlroy will play alongside world number one Scottie Scheffler and defending champion Xander Schauffele for the first two rounds of the US PGA Championship. McIlroy is aiming to become the first player to win the first two majors of the year since Jordan Spieth won the Masters and US Open in 2015. Spieth has been drawn alongside Patrick Reed and Ryder Cup star Ludvig Åberg. South Africa’s top-ranked player, Thriston Lawrence, has been grouped with American Nick Dunlap and England’s Harry Hall.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-27-cents and the euro at 20-rand-44-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-30-cents and Bitcoin trades at 103-thousand-698-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-230-dollars-7-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 66-dollars-8-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….