News 15:00

BULLETIN 19 May 3 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Eskom is to deploy satellite surveillance to detect unregistered solar systems
# Trump wants Harris investigated for allegedly paying Oprah and Beyoncé to endorse her campaign
# And tennis: Carlos Alcaraz moves up to second in the world rankings after winning in Rome

# Eskom has announced plans to utilise satellite imagery to identify unregistered rooftop solar installations across South Africa. This move follows concerns over the impact of unregistered systems on the national electricity infrastructure. The initiative aims to ensure compliance with regulations requiring all grid-tied solar systems to be registered, even if they don’t feed electricity back into the grid. The power utility says by leveraging satellite technology, it intends to enhance its registration drive and maintain grid stability.

# AfriForum is calling on Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment minister, Dion George to investigate SANParks after the High Court in Pretoria scrapped a one-billion-rand IT contract deemed unlawful. The deal, awarded to a politically connected businessman, bypassed tender rules. AfriForum’s Marais de Vaal says this undermines conservation efforts, and calls for accountability and public support to protect national parks from corruption and mismanagement:

# Two people have been killed and one injured after a truck approaching the scene of a protest smashed into pedestrians in Diepkoof, Soweto. Hostel residents are demanding land and development as well as water and sanitation infrastructure. Police spokesperson Mavela Masondo says one person has been taken to hospital, and police are investigating a public violence case:

# US president Donald Trump says he would launch a major investigation into his 2024 election rival, Kamala Harris, over celebrities who backed her. He says candidates aren’t allowed to pay for endorsements and alleges that’s what Harris did under the guise of paying for entertainment. Harris sought to harness star power from celebrities such as Beyoncé and Oprah Winfrey. Winfrey defended a 18-million-rand payment to her production company to cover costs associated with her hosting Harris. Harris’s team denied rumours that she paid megastar Beyoncé 180-million-rand to appear at a rally.

# Tennis: Carlos Alcaraz of Spain replaced Alexander Zverev of Germany in second place in the world rankings after beating top-ranked Jannik Sinner in the final of the Italian Open yesterday. The Italian took over the number one ranking on the tenth of June last year. His compatriot Lorenzo Musetti improved to his highest ranking of eighth, surpassing Australian Alex de Minaur. American Taylor Fritz is still fourth, followed by Jack Draper of Britain, Novak Djokovic of Serbia and Norwegian Casper Ruud. Holger Rune of Denmark completes the top-ten.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-3-cents and the euro at 20-rand-33-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-14-cents and Bitcoin trades at 103-thousand-72-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-242-dollars-90-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 64-dollars-16-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….