News 17:00

BULLETIN 19 February 5 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Bail is granted for four men accused of inciting violence in Groblersdal
# AZAPO questions the funding of political parties with no track record 
# And Rugby: The Bulls are the top South African team on the URC log

# Four men were granted bail of five-thousand-rand each after their appearance on charges of inciting public violence in Groblersdal in Limpopo. Devon Hofmeyr, Willem Petzer, Francois van der Merwe and Tewie Wessels were charged after scuffles broke out outside the local Magistrate’s Court where security company owner Piet Groenewald and his stepson, Stephan Greeff, appeared for allegedly assaulting their employee, Veneruru Kavari, and setting a dog on him. Magistrate Agmat Mphago said this morning everyone was equal before the law and must be regarded innocent until proven guilty.

# The Azanian People’s Organisation has issued a warning about the significant role of money in the lead-up to the national elections. Azapo is concerned about the backing of political parties by astute business figures with no proven track record or membership base. They fear financial backers might dictate the political agenda, citing potential implications for democracy. Azapo’s spokesperson Jabu Rakwena urges journalists and the public to scrutinise the motives behind financial support:

# The mother and lawyer of former Russian opposition leader, Alexei Navalny were reportedly denied entry to the morgue where his body is kept. He died in an Arctic prison last week while serving time for alleged embezzlement and contempt of court. This followed after he survived a suspected poisoning a few years ago. Western countries hold Russia’s government responsible for Navalny’s death, while a paramedic says his body shows signs of bruising. The official version is that he became ill after a walk and couldn’t be resuscitated.

# Rugby: The Bulls are the top South African team on the United Rugby Championship log after ten rounds. The weekend’s derbies saw the Bulls beating the Lions in Johannesburg and the Stormers winning against the Sharks in Durban. Leinster cemented their position at the top of the standings, followed by Glasgow Warriors, while the Bulls are third and the Stormers sixth. Bulls director of rugby Jake White is happy with his team’s position:

# Financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-96-cents and the euro at 20-rand-42-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-90-cents and Bitcoin trades at 52-thousand-267-dollars-32-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-and-18-dollars-11-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 83-dollars-27-cents a barrel.

# And finally: The City of Cape Town confirmed that the unpleasant odor permeating the air is attributed to the arrival of the cattle ship, Al Kuwait, at Cape Town Harbor last night. The City’s mayoral committee member for Water and Sanitation, Zahid Badroodien, stated that the smell predominantly affected areas including Woodstock, Observatory, Greenpoint, and the CBD. The ship is scheduled to depart tonight. Additionally, the Cape of Good Hope SPCA obtained a court order to conduct an inspection on the vessel, which is currently underway.

Stay tuned for more news………….