News 12:00

BULLETIN 8 May 12 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The British high commission apologises to Malema over his visa delay for the Cambridge Conference
# The fraud case against the IEC’s deputy chairperson is postponed to July
# And rugby: The British and Irish Lions’ touring squad for Australia will be announced this afternoon

# The British high commission in Pretoria has apologised to EFF leader Julius Malema after his UK visa was not processed in time for a Cambridge University conference this weekend. High commissioner Antony Phillipson cited standard procedures and recent UK banking holidays as reasons for the delay after Malema accused the country of deliberate sabotage. The commission has offered full refunds to Malema, and his team and noted it lacked authority over visa approvals.

# The fraud case against the Independent Electoral Commission’s deputy chairperson, Nomsa Masuku, and co-accused Mark Roux and Ciniso Masuku has been postponed to 9 July by the Johannesburg Specialised Commercial Crimes Court. The delay is a result of representations made by Roux. National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Phindi Mjonondwane says bail has been extended for all accused:

# The DA in Gauteng is calling for the urgent opening of the 2026 online school admissions system to prevent placement delays. This year, over six-thousand learners were only placed by late January. The party’s Sergio Isa dos Santos says early applications would give parents more time, reduce missed school days, and allow proper planning. He says they are proposing a user-friendly system, more support, and real-time tracking to ensure every learner is placed on time.

# Rugby: The touring squad of the British and Irish Lions will be named during a special ceremony in London this afternoon. Head coach Andy Farrell is expected to announce a group of 37 players for the tour of Australia that will consist of three Tests against the Wallabies as well as six other matches. The Lions lost to the Springboks during the previous tour in 2021 after playing to a draw against the All Blacks in 2017. Their last series victory was against the Wallabies in 2013.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-26-cents and the euro at 20-rand-62-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-24-cents and Bitcoin trades at 99-thousand-564-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-341-dollars-41-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 61-dollars-31-cents a barrel.

# And finally: The Freedom Front Plus says Afrikaans is a cultural and intellectual language that must be protected. Today marks the centennial of the recognition of Afrikaans as an official language in South Africa. FF Plus leader Corné Mulder says a cultural, political and social struggle spanning decades, and rooted in the pursuit of Afrikaner identity and self-determination, led up to the recognition of Afrikaans as an official language in 1925:

Stay tuned for more news………….