News 17:00

BULLETIN 24 April 5 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# President Ramaphosa warns that inequality threatens global progress
# African judges adopt the Johannesburg Declaration on Gender Equality
# And, Rugby: The Junior Springboks will take on Argentina in the Southern Hemisphere U20 championships on Freedom Day

# President Cyril Ramaphosa says inequality remains one of the greatest threats to human progress, limiting opportunity and wasting potential. Delivering a keynote address at the consultative council of the founding committee of the international panel on inequality, Ramaphosa warned that inequality entrenches poverty across generations and restricts access to basic needs such as education, food, and employment. He stressed that global progress is impossible while billions remain excluded from opportunities:

# The Madlanga Commission has raised concerns of testimony contradictions after suspended Tshwane Metro Police Department deputy chief, Umashi Dhlamini, revealed that procurement rules require purchase orders to be issued before work begins, contradicting suspended chief financial officer Gareth Mnisi’s testimony. The inquiry is investigating alleged irregularities in a 59-million-rand security tender linked to Gubis85 Solutions. Commission chair Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga flagged concerns about retrospective invoicing in Tshwane municipal contracts:

# The Conference of Constitutional Jurisdictions of Africa and the South African Judiciary have adopted the Johannesburg Declaration, aimed at advancing gender equality and judicial excellence. The agreement concluded a three-day summit of women judicial leaders in Johannesburg yesterday. Key priorities included increasing women’s representation on the bench, strengthening constitutional justice, and promoting judicial independence. The declaration also aligns with regional human rights frameworks and seeks to enhance collaboration among African judiciaries on modern legal challenges.

# Two forest fires continued to spread toward residential areas in a northern Japanese town prompting ‌authorities to expand evacuation orders to more than three-thousand people. The blaze broke out on Wednesday afternoon in a ⁠mountainous area in Iwate Prefecture, followed by another fire about two hours later near the town Otsuchi. Firefighters have been battling the flames from both the ground and the air, but it remains uncontained. The ⁠wildfires have scorched more than one-thousand-176 hectares and forced evacuation orders covering one-thousand-541 households and three-thousand-233 people.

# Rugby: The Junior Springboks begin their Under-20 Rugby Championship campaign at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha against Argentina on Freedom Day. The match follows the tournament opener between New Zealand and Australia. The four Southern Hemisphere nations will play each other once in a round-robin format with the finals on 9 May. The Boks’ squad features several provincial stars. The tournament serves as a critical developmental platform ahead of the World Rugby Under-20 Championship scheduled to take place in Georgia from 27 June to 18 July.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-56-cents against the rand and the euro at 19-rand-39-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-35-cents and Bitcoin trades at 78-thousand-367-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-704-dollars-75-cents a fine ounce, and Brent crude oil is quoted at 98-dollars-98-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….