News 18:00

BULLETIN 29 April 6 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Presidency defends the vetting process of the SABC news head 
# Motorcyclists are urged to adhere to the road rules amid rising fatal accidents
# And Rugby: JF van Heerden brings calmness to the Junior Bok squad

# The Presidency has refuted claims the State Security Agency is targeting SABC’s head of news, Moshoeshoe (Moshweshwe) Monare (MoeNArê). This comes amid suggestions of targeted vetting ahead of the elections. According to Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya, Monare is undergoing a routine vetting process, which is standard for all SABC executives. He says Monare’s vetting stalled when he declined to undergo a polygraph test, which is part of the process:

# Motorcyclists are urged to adhere to road rules amid rising fatal accidents. The South African National Road Agency Limited has reported 12-thousand annual fatal crashes on national roads, with over 40-percent involving pedestrians and motorcyclists. SANRAL’s Progress Hlahla attributes these incidents to over speeding, insufficient safety measures, and reckless driving behaviour:

# SA Tourism has revealed irregular payments and invoices amounting to 35-million-rand were processed just before the previous financial year end in March 2023. These transactions, overseen by executives who are no longer with the organisation, and paid to a media agency, were flagged during a review. The discovery prompted an internal audit and reporting to the Auditor General. Tourism minister Patricia de Lille says the whole amount has now been recovered. She emphasises accountability and ongoing oversight measures.

# French police have detained screen legend Gerard Depardieu for questioning after two women accused him of sexual assault. Press agency AFP reports the 75-year-old actor, who has starred in more than 200 films and television series, was charged with rape in 2020. He was forced to put his career on hold last year as allegations of sexual harassment and assault mounted against him. Police were to question Depardieu over two women alleging that he assaulted them, one on a film set in 2021 and the other on a shoot in 2014.

# Rugby: When the Junior Springboks open their Under-20 Rugby Championship campaign against New Zealand at the Sunshine Coast Stadium on Thursday, they will rely on the calmness of towering lock JF van Heerden. SA Rugby says Van Heerden, who is 2.01-metres tall, has experience of playing at international level. He starred in Bafana Nhleko’s squad that finished third at the World Rugby U20 Championship in Cape Town last year.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-68-cents and the euro at 20-rand-1-cent. One British pound costs 23-rand-41-cents and Bitcoin trades at 62-thousand-220-dollars-141-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-335-dollars-79-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 87-dollars-68-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….