News 11:00

BULLETIN 10 January 11 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Christian Forum takes legal steps against the Road Accident Fund
# Three suspects are arrested for human trafficking
# And an Olympic surf picture wins the World Sports Photography Award

# The South African National Christian Forum is taking legal action against the Road Accident Fund over unpaid invoices. According to the forum, a disabled businesswoman, whose company employs over 15 people, has struggled for over a year with delayed payments from the RAF, impacting salaries, materials, and projects. The forum’s president Marothi Mashashane is seeking justice for the businesswoman and others affected by the RAF’s non-payment:

# The Hawks have arrested and charged three suspects believed to be linked to a human trafficking ring. This comes after police rescued 15 undocumented Ethiopian nationals who were being kept against their will in a house in Lombardy East in Johannesburg. Eleven have been hospitalised; while about 30, who are believed to be naked escaped on Thursday evening. Hawks spokesperson, Philani Nkwalase, says preliminary investigation found that the victims broke open a window and burglar bars and escaped:

# The death toll from the five Los Angeles wildfires has now risen to ten, as weather forecasters warn more high winds may fan the flames further. As many as ten-thousand structures have been destroyed in the coastal Palisades fire, which is the largest blaze and is only six-percent contained. Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Police Department says a man has been taken into custody on suspicion of arson, after allegedly attempting to light a fire in the Woodlands Hills area.

# Rugby: Springbok Sevens coach Philip Snyman says they are aware of the mammoth task ahead at the Perth leg of the World Sevens Series. The Blitzboks have been drawn in a tough pool alongside reigning champions Argentina, hosts Australia, and the USA for the tournament from the 24th to the 26th of January. The team returned to their base in Stellenbosch last week. Snyman says he will continue adding new players as he is rebuilding his squad towards the next Olympics:

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-94-cents and the euro at 19-rand-49-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-27-cents and Bitcoin trades at 94-thousand-214-dollars. Gold sells at two-thousand-675-dollars-15-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 77-dollars-15-cents a barrel.

# And finally, the viral photograph of Brazilian surfer Gabriel Medina taken by Jerome Brouillet at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris won the top honour at the World Sports Photography Awards. The image shows Medina floating through the air, his board silhouetting his body next to him, and his finger pointed to the sky. Over two-thousand-200 sports photographers from over 96 countries submitted more than 13-thousand images for the competition. Brouillet says he was able to capture the striking photo because of the ideal weather conditions, experience timing, and a bit of luck.

Stay tuned for more news………….