News 13:00

BULLETIN 26 January 1 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Minister Naledi Pandor meets with the ICJ chief prosecutor ahead of the genocide case ruling against Israel 
# AfriForum lodges a complaint with the Public Protector over alleged corruption at Nsfas
# And Tennis: Jannik Sinner stuns Novak Djokovic to make his first Grand Slam final

# Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Naledi Pandor, met with International Court of Justice chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, during an official visit to the court. This comes as the court will today rule on South Africa’s request for emergency measures against Israel, which is accused of genocide for its military operation in Gaza. The ruling will not deal with the core accusation of the case, whether genocide occurred. The department’s spokesperson, Clayson Monyela, says South Africa believes Israel violated the Genocide Convention:

# AfriForum has lodged a formal complaint with the Public Protector’s office, regarding allegations of corruption involving the minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, Blade Nzimande, and the board chairperson of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme, Ernest Khosa. The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse has accused the pair of defrauding the scheme through kickbacks from service providers. AfriForum’s Charné Mostert says corrupt officials must bear the consequences of their actions:

# Proudly South African urges the public to prioritise locally manufactured goods for job creation, highlighting the detrimental impact of choosing imports on the country’s economic growth. CEO Eustace Mashimbye notes the importance of sustaining local businesses to retain jobs and contribute to the gross domestic product. Findings from a commissioned study suggests a 10-percent private sector investment in the agri-processing, furniture and automobile sectors could generate up to 76-thousand new jobs. Mashimbye calls for the implementation of sector-specific solutions to promote local manufacturing.

# Rwanda accuses Burundi’s president Évariste Ndayishimiye of attempting to incite a youth revolt against president Paul Kagame during the inauguration of the Democratic Republic of Congo president Felix Tshisekedi. Rwanda condemns the alleged inflammatory statements and calls it a violation of the African Union Charter. Meanwhile, Rwanda denies interest in conflict with its neighbours, pledging a commitment to regional stability. Burundi previously closed its border with Rwanda, accusing it of supporting the RED Tabara rebel group operating from eastern DRC.

# Tennis: Italy’s Jannik Sinner is through to his first career Grand Slam final after beating ten-time champion Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open semifinals. The 22-year-old defeated the Serb, 6-1, 6-2, 6-7, 6-3 in Melbourne. Sinner could rise to a career-high of number three if he wins his first major title on Sunday, and Russia’s Daniil Medvedev loses to Germany’s Alexander Zverev in the other semifinal. Sinner says he believed he could beat the world number one:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-86-cents and the euro at 20-rand-44-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-97-cents and Bitcoin trades at 40-thousand-167-dollars-49-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-19-dollars-and-80-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 81-dollars-30-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….