News 16:00

BULLETIN 12 May 4 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Minister Ronald Lamola confirms the planning of Ramaphosa’s US working visit is at an advanced stage
# Rugby: Ten teams compete for the final eight in the URC’s final league round
# And South Africa will be represented at the Cannes Film Festival in France

# International Relations and Cooperation minister Ronald Lamola says the planning of president Cyril Ramaphosa’s working visit to the US is at an advanced stage, with dates to be confirmed soon. This follows the departure of 49 white Afrikaners to the US last night after being granted refugee status by president Donald Trump’s administration. Lamola dismissed claims of persecution against white Afrikaner farmers, citing police data shows no targeted attacks, with crime affecting all South Africans:

Lamola has also unveiled South Africa’s ambitious G20 roadmap ahead of the November summit, focusing on artificial intelligence, food security, and inequality. Lamola told the media the Presidency is pushing for reforms in global financial and trade systems, stronger climate finance, and support for gender equality. He also called on citizens to engage with the G20 process, advocating for tangible solutions for the most vulnerable:

# The Vredenburg Magistrate’s Court on the West Coast has granted 500-rand bail for a woman accused of torching Kelly Smith’s home in Middelpos, Saldanha Bay. Twenty-seven-year-old Monique Kekana was arrested in connection with the incident which occured after Smith and her co-accused were convicted of kidnapping and trafficking her six-year-old daughter, Joslin. Kekana returns to court on 25 June. Speaking to Newzroom Afrika, she expressed no remorse, stating her actions were in pursuit of justice for Joslin:

# Rugby: Ten teams remain in the running for the eight play-off places in the United Rugby Championship before the weekend’s final league round. The Bulls and the Sharks are currently lying second and fourth on the log, respectively, and are sure of qualification, while the Stormers are in fifth position and not entirely out of the woods yet. Leinster is first and defending champions Glasgow Warriors third. Scarlets, Benetton, Munster, Cardiff and Edinburgh can all still make the top-eight. The Lions’ campaign is over.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-32-cents and the euro at 20-rand-35-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-15-cents and Bitcoin trades at 104-thousand-19-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-228-dollars-73-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 65-dollars-95-cents a barrel.

# And finally: South African filmmaker Dian Weys says he hopes his short film’s selection for the 78th Cannes Film Festival in France will draw attention to the country’s film industry. Vultures (Aasvoëls) has been selected in the Short Film Competition with 11 others selected from over four-thousand entries. It stars Edwin van der Walt, Jill Levenberg, Albert Pretorius, and Oscar Petersen. South African director Oliver Hermanus’s The History of Sound will compete in the Feature Films Competition. The festival runs from tomorrow to the 24th of this month.

Stay tuned for more news………….