News 13:00

BULLETIN 17 April 1 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The NCC president calls for a broader view of South Africa’s history beyond apartheid
# Al Jama-ah is confident a higher court will consider Julius Malema’s appeal
# And rugby: Disappointing results for the Bok Women’s Sevens in Hong Kong

# The National Coloured Congress’s president, Fadiel Adams, says South Africans must look beyond apartheid when examining historical injustice. He was speaking in the Western Cape. Adams argues focusing only on apartheid overlooks the deeper impact of colonialism, which spanned centuries leading to land dispossession and cultural loss. He emphasised that understanding this broader history is key to addressing present-day inequality, recognising roots of social and economic challenges:

# The Al Jama-ah party is confident a higher court will carefully consider the legal merits and the broader legal constitutional principles of EFF leader Julius Malema’s appeal, to ensure that justice ultimately prevails. Malema has been granted leave to appeal his five-year direct imprisonment sentence for unlawful possession of a firearm. Al Jama-ah’s Imraan Moosa says the Constitution guarantees that every accused person has the right to have their conviction and sentence reviewed by a higher court, which may arrive at a different decision.

# The DA says the planned relocation of 172 mental health patients from the Talisman Foundation in Johannesburg could risk repeating the Life Esidimeni tragedy. The party’s Jack Bloom says decisions must be guided by clinical care and patient safety rather than administrative or financial pressure. Bloom has called for full oversight from the Gauteng Health Department to ensure patient safety:

Moving abroad:

# Pope Leo is currently in Cameroon on the second leg of his historic 11-day African tour. He arrived in Yaoundé on Wednesday where he focused his message on peace, dialogue, and humanitarian aid. This follows a groundbreaking visit to Algeria, the first ever by a sitting pope. Tomorrow he travels to Angola to visit the sacred shrine of Mama Muxima. The four-nation journey, celebrating Africa’s rapid Catholic growth, will conclude in Equatorial Guinea next week.

# Rugby: The Springbok Women’s Sevens suffered heavy defeats on the opening day of the World Championship in Hong Kong. Teagan Levi scored 14 points as Australia claimed a comprehensive 33-0 victory over South Africa in their opening Pool B match at Kai Tak Sports Park. This was followed by a 31-0 defeat to Canada, who ran in five tries. Tomorrow, the Bok Women will face Great Britain in their final Pool match.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-36-cents and the euro at 19-rand-30-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-14-cents and Bitcoin trades at 75-thousand-857-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-795-dollars-64-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 92-dollars-96-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….