News 12:00

BULLETIN 15 May 12 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Parliament’s portfolio committee wants a legal opinion on the possibility of charging AfriForum and Solidarity
# The Public Servants Association calls for accountability on the near collapse of the National Lotteries Commission
# And tennis: Alexander Zverev and Aryna Sabalenka are knocked out of the Italian Open

# Parliament’s portfolio committee on International Relations and Cooperation wants National Assembly speaker, Thoko Didiza, to get a legal opinion on the possibility of charging AfriForum and Solidarity. The committee’s chairperson, Supra Mahumapelo, says the organisations are at the forefront of spreading misinformation about South Africa to the US. This follows the departure of 49 Afrikaners, who have been granted refugee status in America. Mahumapelo says there is no genocide in the country, as claimed by president Donald Trump:

# The Public Servants Association is concerned about recent developments indicating the potential collapse of the National Lotteries Commission. The commission has been accused of mismanagement and irregular and unlawful appointment. PSA’s Claude Naiker says poor governance, the appointment of questionable persons and consultants who serve as enablers to corruption, and inadequate oversight are major concerns:

# A construction company working on Phase Two of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project has been forced to suspend operations after allegedly dumping acidic and oily wastewater into nearby rivers and the Katse reservoir. The reservoir provides drinking water to South Africa. According to Moneyweb, the joint venture, Kopano Ke Matla, indefinitely sent home one-thousand-400 workers from the bi-national project worth 42-billion-rand. The spokesperson for the Lesotho Highlands Development Authority, Mpho Brown, says the company has until 26 May to rectify the environmental non-compliance issues.

# Tennis: Third-seeded Carlos Alcaraz has set up a semifinal meeting with local player Lorenzo Musetti at the Italian Open. The Spaniard saw off Britain’s Jack Draper in straight sets as he continues his quest for a maiden title in Rome. Musetti ended German Alexander Zverev’s title defence with a 7-6, 6-4 victory to become the third Italian to reach the semifinals in Rome. In the women’s draw, China’s Qinwen Zheng knocked out top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus to reach the semifinals.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-23-cents and the euro at 20-rand-42-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-21-cents and Bitcoin trades at 102-thousand-63-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-150-dollars-90-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 63-dollars-85-cents a barrel.

# And finally: South Africa has been ranked among the top three countries for British expats to move to in 2025. According to UK-based relocation firm U.K.ABROAD, the country’s affordability, warm climate, English-speaking environment, and quality of life are major drawcards. Australia tops the list, followed by Canada and South Africa. New Zealand and the US round out the top five. More than 5.5-million British expats live outside the UK.

Stay tuned for more news………….