News 12:00

BULLETIN 24 February 12 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# ActionSA demands immediate arrests after the Special Investigating Unit exposed Home Affairs corruption
# Brown Mogotsi is ready to set the record straight
# And Paralympics: Ukrainian athletes are urged not to boycott the Winter Games’ opening ceremony

# ActionSA is demanding immediate action following the outcomes of the Special Investigating Unit’s probe into the Department of Home Affairs. The investigation revealed that South Africa’s immigration system has been treated as a marketplace, where permits and visas were sold to the highest bidder. ActionSA’s Lerato Ngobeni says four officials earning less than 25-thousand-rand per month reportedly received more than 16-million-rand in unexplained deposits:

# Controversial North West businessman, Brown Mogotsi, says he is ready to set the record straight before Parliament’s ad hoc committee. He is appearing today after initially refusing to appear, citing safety issues. He is expected to give evidence related to police interference and his links to criminal mastermind Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala, and the disbanding of the political killings task team. Mogotsi says he respects Parliament’s processes and is ready to be questioned:

# The MK Party has filed an urgent application in the High Court in Pretoria to block the payment of former National Director of Public Prosecutions Shamila Batohi’s pension and other post-term gratuities. The party also wants the court to reverse the decision to fund her legal costs at the Nkabinde inquiry, which is investigating South Gauteng NPA head Andrew Chauke’s fitness to hold office. In court papers, the MK Party raises concerns about Batohi’s conduct during the inquiry, claiming she knowingly made false or misleading statements under oath.

# Renowned independent Palestinian-American journalist, Sam Husseini, has cautioned South Africa could face harsh economic retaliation from the US. The country awaits an outcome to the genocide case it brought against Israel at the International Court of Justice in 2023. Husseini delivered a lecture at the University of the Western Cape, saying South Africa could obtain another round of emergency orders from the ICJ, but cautions over immediate and long-term ramifications:

# Paralympics: The International Paralympic Committee has urged Ukrainian athletes not to boycott the opening ceremony of the Winter Games. This comes after the committee permitted certain Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete under their flags and with their national anthems. The Czech Paralympic Committee will also boycott the opening ceremony in solidarity with Ukraine. IPC president Andrew Parsons expressed concern that these situations can sometimes be politicised. The Milano Cortina Paralympics are scheduled to run in Italy from 6 to 15 March.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-2-cents and the euro at 18-rand-88-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-60-cents and Bitcoin trades at 63-thousand-214-dollars. Gold sells at five-thousand-171-dollars-97-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 71-dollars-13-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….