News 18:00

BULLETIN 28 April 6 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Cosatu welcomes the withdrawal of a draft AI policy over fictitious sources in the reference list
# Gauteng’s MEC for Education, Lebogang Maile says the province needs 200 more schools to ease overcrowding
# And, New Zealand axes plan for a WW2 sex slaves statue after protests from Japan

# Union federation Cosatu has welcomed minister of Communications and Digital Technologies Solly Malatsi’s decision to withdraw the draft National Artificial Intelligence policy. According to the minister, an investigation confirmed that the draft policy contained various fictitious sources in its reference list, which has compromised the integrity and credibility of the document. Cosatu’s Matthew Parks says it is concerning that the document was not subjected to proper vetting internally within the department:

# Gauteng Education MEC Lebogang Maile told the provincial legislature the province faces severe school overcrowding driven by rapid enrolment growth linked to migration and urbanisation. He warns over one-thousand schools are operating above capacity, with at least 200 new schools needed. Maile says urgent action is required to ensure equitable access to quality education across the province:

# The National Health Laboratory Service, in partnership with the Gauteng Department of Health, National Priority Programmes, and Wits Diagnostic Innovation Hub, launched South Africa’s first National Diabetes Dashboard. The system provides near-real-time national data on diabetes control, updated within 48 hours, enabling faster identification of high-risk patients and improved clinical response. Laboratory Chief Executive Officer Koleka Mlisana says the platform shifts reporting from monthly manual updates to real-time action, strengthening decision-making and improving outcomes for patients nationwide.

# Plans have been rejected to erect a statue in a public garden in Auckland, New Zealand, symbolising the so-called comfort women who were forced into sexual slavery by Japan during World War Two. The Japanese embassy had warned the installation of the bronze statue of a girl sitting next to an empty chair, could significantly impact the diplomatic relations between the two countries. More than 200-thousand women and girls, most of them Korean, were forced into prostitution to serve Japanese soldiers during the war.

# Road running: London Marathon record holder Sabastian Sawe has dismissed claims that his running shoes gave him an unfair advantage after breaking the two-hour marathon barrier. Sawe clocked a historic one-hour-59-minutes-30-seconds, becoming the first athlete to achieve the feat in an official race. Sawe says the shoes are approved by World Athletics. He also underwent multiple doping tests to prove that elite athletes can compete fairly and achieve record-breaking results:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-59-cents against the rand and the euro at 19-rand-40-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-39-cents and Bitcoin trades at 76-thousand-117-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-568-dollars-29-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 104-dollars-12-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….