News 13:00

BULLETIN 17 May 1 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Israel alleges a legal ambush in the ICJ proceedings 
# RISE Mzansi encourages voters abroad to vote 
# And tennis: It’s the men’s semifinal day in Rome

# Israel has accused South Africa of a legal ambush in the International Court of Justice at the Hague, in the Netherlands. They claim the hearing is unfair due to the unavailability of its chosen legal representatives. South Africa is seeking additional emergency measures against Israel’s offensive on Rafah in Gaza. Israel’s Deputy Attorney General, Gilad Noam, argues the accusations of genocide are baseless, stating Rafah is also a Hamas stronghold with rocket sites embedded in the civilian population:

# RISE Mzansi is urging South Africans abroad to vote this weekend. There are over 78-thousand citizens registered to vote at 111 South African missions around the world. RISE Mzansi leader, Songezo Zibi, says over the last few weeks, they have held successful online and physical meetings with South Africans in the UK, Mauritius, Tokyo, the United Arab Emirates, and other countries:

# AVBOB funeral home has offered to bury the construction workers killed in last week’s George building collapse for free. Thirty-three workers have died while 19 are still unaccounted for. AVBOB’s spokesperson, Gert Niehaus, says they have so far received 25 deceased workers at their premises. He says for foreign workers, they will supply coffins, and get all the proper documentation ready for the families to transport their loved ones across the border. Families will only have to pay the travelling costs.

# AfriForum will release its annual report on 2023’s farm attacks and murders next week. Community Safety spokesperson Jacques Broodryk says the report examines these crimes, comparing them to other serious offenses handled by police with specialised strategies. He highlights that crimes like taxi violence, political assassinations, and cash-in-transit robberies receive dedicated investigative units and task teams. Broodryk emphasises that farm murders lack this focused approach, with their severity often ignored or minimised by government.

# Tennis: It’s men’s semifinals day in the Italian Open in Rome. Third-seeded German Alexander Zverev first takes on 29th-seeded Chilean Alejandro Tabilo, who has eliminated world number one, Novak Djokovic of Serbia, and 16th-seeded Russian Karen Khachanov on his way to the penultimate round. Then another player from Chile, 21st-seeded Nicolás Jarry, plays 14th-seeded American Tommy Paul. Tomorrow, the top-two women in the world, Iga Swiatek of Poland and Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, will face off in the final.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-25-cents and the euro at 19-rand-79-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-8-cents and Bitcoin trades at 66-thousand-252-dollars-91-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-383-dollars-58-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 83-dollars-32-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….