News 15:00

BULLETIN 5 May 3 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Fadiel Adams is arrested after failing to report to police
# Rugby: Salman Moerat returns to Stormers training after a long-term injury lay-off
# And a prayer meeting for the anniversary of the George building collapse is postponed over a severe storm warning

# Police have arrested the leader of the National Coloured Congress and Member of Parliament, Fadiel Adams, at his parliamentary village home in Cape Town after failing to hand himself over. He was sought on fraud and defeating the ends of justice charges linked to the murder case of ANC councillor Sindiso Magaqa. Adams claims he had indicated willingness to cooperate, speaking on his way to Grassy Park police station:

# Head of the Hawks’ Organised Crime unit, major general Hendrik Flynn, has told the Madlanga commission illegally mined gold is fed into illegal markets through intermediaries. He says material is sold to licensed refineries, sometimes mixed with lawful supply, making tracing difficult. Flynn stresses not all companies are involved. He warns cash-based transactions and weak oversight enable laundering, sustaining illegal mining and obscuring financial flows locally and internationally:

# Forum for South Africa is calling on government to scrap the National Student Financial Aid Scheme and replace it with a competent, transparent, and accountable student funding system. Minister of Higher Education and Training, Buti Manamela, has placed the scheme under administration following several board resignations and governance failures. FOSA leader, Tebogo Mashilompane, says NS-FAS is a broken institution that has consistently failed the very students it was created to serve:

# Rugby: Springbok lock Salmaan Moerat has returned to training and looks set to be fit for the Stormers’ final two United Rugby Championship group matches in Europe. He last played for the Cape Town team in January when he suffered a toe injury. The Stormers, currently top of the log, play Ulster in Ireland on Friday night and Cardiff in Wales next weekend. Moerat’s return is also good news for the national set-up. He leaves the Stormers at the end of the season to join La Rochelle in France.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-72-cents against the rand and the euro at 19-rand-55-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-63-cents and Bitcoin trades at 80-thousand-888-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-555-dollars-34-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 111-dollars-32-cents a barrel.

# And finally: A prayer meeting marking the second anniversary of the George building collapse in the Western Cape has been postponed indefinitely. Methodist reverend Pete Veysie was set to facilitate the event tomorrow, but it had been cancelled because a level 8 storm is expected to hit the Garden Route from today until Thursday. Thirty-four people died and scores were injured when the construction site collapsed on 6 May 2024.

Stay tuned for more news………….