News 09:00

BULLETIN 1 February 9 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Africa4Palestine welcomes the expulsion of an Israeli envoy
# A firm linked to Paul Mashatile’s son is barred from State contracts
# And rugby, United Rugby Championships victories for the Sharks and the Bulls

# Africa4Palestine has welcomed South Africa’s decision to declare Israeli chargé d’affaires Ariel Seidman persona non grata. The government said Seidman’s alleged social media attacks on president Cyril Ramaphosa and diplomatic breaches justified his expulsion. The group’s spokesperson Alie Komape told SABC News the move was long overdue and they now seek stronger action, including closing the Israeli embassy. He says the organisation is urging government to fully cut ties with Israel:

# The chairperson of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts, Songezo Zibi, has expressed concern over lengthy delays faced by Road Accident Fund claimants without legal representation. Speaking in Parktown, Johannesburg, Zibi highlighted the malfunctioning integrated customer claim management system, which cost nearly one-billion-rand. He noted to SABC News that some claims have been pending for six years and called for urgent fixes to improve support for accident victims:

# A company linked to deputy president Paul Mashatile’s son, Thabiso Mashatile, has been removed from government’s Central Supplier Database, blocking it from future state work. According to MDN News, Modipadi Nokaneng, now trading as 0711 Stuttgart, was delisted following compliance concerns including unpaid tax liabilities of reportedly about three-million-rand in VAT owed to SARS, and unresolved labour disputes involving owed settlements to retrenched staff. The firm previously secured multimillion-rand contracts from Gauteng Health.

# An ally of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has proposed a bill to ban social media for children, as the world’s biggest market for Meta and YouTube joins a global debate on the impact of social media on young people’s health and safety. Australia last month became the first country to ban social media for children under 16. France’s National Assembly this week backed legislation to ban children under 15 from social media, while Britain, Denmark and Greece are also studying the issue.

# Rugby: The Bulls demolish their neighbours, the Lions 52-17 in a one-sided United Rugby Championship match at Ellis Park on Saturday. The Bulls had lost 43-33 at home to the Lions earlier in the season but turned the tables in emphatic fashion in the return URC fixture. The Bulls lead 26-3 at the break with an advantage that the Lions could never haul in, despite an improved effort I the early stages of the second half. The Bulls finished with a total of eight tries with six conversions against the Lions’ two converted tries and a penalty. 

And in more URC news, the Sharks beat the Stormers 36-24 in their coastal derby at Kings Park in Durban yesterday.  They ran in five tries for a bonus-point victory. It was the Sharks’ second win over the Stormers in as many weeks, having also won 30-19 in Cape Town last weekend. The Stormers led 17-14 at halftime in Durban and also went ahead 24-14 early in the second half, but the Sharks soon regained control of the encounter. The Stormers were again ill-disciplined, with Paul de Villiers and Ruben van Heerden getting yellow cards.

Stay tuned for more news………….