News 11:00

BULLETIN 13 May 11 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The National Prosecuting Authority will appeal Timothy Omotoso’s acquittal
# Another three suspects are arrested in connection with the murder of a journalist and his partner
# And 400 Islamic State fighters in the UK might be prosecuted

# The National Prosecuting Authority’s Director of Public Prosecutions in the Eastern Cape, Barry Madolo, has decided to appeal the judgment acquitting controversial Nigerian televangelist Timothy Omotoso and his co-accused. Omotoso, Lusanda Solani and Zukiswa Sitho were acquitted last month of 32 charges, including of rape, racketeering and human trafficking. The NPA’s spokesperson, advocate Mthunzi Mhaga, told the SABC there are reasonable prospects of a successful appeal despite the complexities of the legal process:

# Police have confirmed that three more suspects linked to the disappearance and possible murder of journalist Aserie Ndlovu and his partner, Zodwa Mdhluli, have been arrested. This brings the total number of those arrested to eight. Human remains, believed to be those of the couple, were discovered in Rust de Winter on the border of Limpopo and Gauteng last week. DNA tests are still pending to confirm their identities. Police spokesperson Athlenda Mathe says the suspects were arrested this morning:

# The Department of Health says food safety standards will now face greater scrutiny following Tiger Brands’ decision to settle the listeriosis class action. The 2017 outbreak, traced to contaminated products from the company’s Polokwane facility in Limpopo, claimed over 200 lives and affected more than one-thousand people. The department’s Foster Mohale urged affected families to come forward with evidence for possible compensation:

# The UK Parliament’s joint committee on Human Rights says over 400 people who fought for ISIS in Syria and Iraq are believed to have returned to the UK, without being prosecuted. ISIS was responsible for widespread campaigns of terror, murder and rape, often targeted against minority religious groups. The committee says the courts face a barrier to exercising justice on war crimes and genocide, as it’s not possible to prosecute people for these crimes unless they are UK nationals, residents, or subject to service personnel laws.

# Cricket: With the Indian Premier League resuming on Saturday, Cricket Australia says it will support players in their individual decisions on whether to return to India or not. The world’s biggest franchise league was halted for one week last Friday amid rising tensions between India and Pakistan. A ceasefire was reached a day later. Many of the Australians involved in the tournament returned home. Cricket Australia says the revised IPL schedule complicates preparations for next month’s World Test Championship final against South Africa in London.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-22-cents and the euro at 20-rand-25-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-5-cents and Bitcoin trades at 102-thousand-720-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-260-dollars-81-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 64-dollars-78-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….