News 17:00

BULLETIN 10 January 5 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# FEDSAS is concerned as rising school fees strain families amidst economic pressures
# The case against suspects in a hijacking case linked to Nelson Mandela’s grandson is postponed
# And Rugby: The Glasgow Warriors and Racing92 kick off this weekend’s Champions Cup action

# The Federation of Governing Bodies of South African says fee-paying schools are experiencing significant financial strain as school fees rise, increasing pressure on families. Fedsas reports that independent schools are expected to provide exemptions of between 7.4-billion-rand and 10.8-billion-rand to struggling parents. Speaking to eNCA, Fedsas’ Riaan van der Bergh says with fee increases surpassing inflation, he urged schools to communicate fee and stationery adjustments transparently:

# The case against four suspects linked to a hijacked vehicle found at former president Nelson Mandela’s Houghton home in Johannesburg has been postponed to 17 January. A fifth person arrested was Nelson Mandela’s grandson, but he did not appear in court today. The court ordered the media not to publish the suspects’ names, gender or race. The hijacked vehicle was discovered along with an unlicensed firearm. They have been charged with kidnapping, robbery, and assault.

# Rwandan president Paul Kagame has urged the Democratic Republic of Congo to negotiate with M23 rebels. The rebel group has seized key towns in eastern DRC, intensifying the region’s instability. Despite calls for dialogue, tensions remain high, with over a million displaced by ongoing conflict. Kagame criticised the DRC’s reluctance to address internal issues and dismissed accusations of Rwanda backing the rebels:

# Rugby: Champions Cup action kicks off tonight at 10 when coach Franco Smith’s Glasgow Warriors host French outfit Racing92. The Scottish side won seven points from a possible ten in their two matches in Europe’s premier competition to date. A win would all but guarantee a place in the knockout stages for a second successive campaign. Wing Kyle Steyn captains the side as he makes his first Champions Cup appearance of the campaign. British and Irish Lions prop Rory Sutherland also makes his first start since October.

# Financial indicators: The dollar trades at 19-rand-2-cents and the euro at 19-rand-61-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-42-cents and Bitcoin trades at 94-thousand-853-dollars. Gold sells at two-thousand-679-dollars-98-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 79-dollars-20-cents a barrel.

# And finally: Photographs have captured the moments after a baby girl was born on a packed migrant dinghy heading from a Moroccan province to the Canary Islands. The boat’s 60 passengers were rescued by a Spanish coastguard ship. The mother and baby were taken to hospital for medical checks. Once discharged they will be moved to a humanitarian centre for migrants, from where they will most likely be relocated to a reception centre for mothers and children. Thousands of migrants annually attempt to make the journey from the African coast to the Spanish Canaries.

Stay tuned for more news………….