News 18:00

BULLETIN 7 May 6 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Weather chaos forces continued school closures in Eden and Central Karoo
# A retired Hawks investigator Jakobus Prinsloo says Lesetja Senona knew SAPS Port Shepstone facility was unsafe for drug storage
# And, a KLM flight attendant is tested for the hantavirus

# The Western Cape Department of Education says 29 schools in the Eden and Central Karoo districts will remain closed tomorrow due to storm damage and blocked access roads. The closures affect areas including George, Knysna and Oudtshoorn. All other schools in the affected areas will reopen, although learner transport services may still be disrupted. Education MEC David Maynier says authorities continue to monitor weather conditions and support recovery efforts in affected communities:

Meanwhile, the George Municipality in the Western Cape has called on families to postpone funerals scheduled for this weekend due to heavy rainfall in the area. Persistent rain has saturated cemetery soil and raised the water table, making grave digging unsafe and increasing the risk of grave wall collapse. Residents are being advised to reschedule burials for later dates, with grave digging to resume only once the soil has stabilised and water levels have dropped.

# Retired Hawks investigator Jakobus Prinsloo told the Madlanga Commission that the SAPS facility in Port Shepstone was unsuitable for storing large drug consignments. Prinsloo said the head of the Hawks in KwaZulu-Natal Lesetja Senona and other senior officers were aware the building lacked approved exhibit registers. He testified that Hawks offices did not have approved strong rooms, making them vulnerable to security breaches despite being required to store significant quantities of drugs:

# A flight attendant for the KLM airline is being tested for the hantavirus after showing mild symptoms and being admitted to hospital in Amsterdam. The Dutch Health Ministry says the woman is undergoing tests after coming into contact with a Dutch woman who was taken off a KLM plane and later died of the virus in South Africa. KLM says the passenger had been briefly on a flight from Johannesburg to the Netherlands but was removed before take-off.  Meanwhile people on the flight are contacted as a precaution.

# Cricket: Former England captain Michael Vaughan has criticised the England and Wales Cricket Board for a four-month delay in appointing a new national selector. Luke Wright announced his departure in January and officially stepped down when the T20 World Cup concluded in March. Interviews were held this week, with the role attracting around 80 applicants, including former bowlers Steven Finn and Darren Gough. England is set to name its squad for the first Test against New Zealand in two weeks. Vaughan has described the delay as ridiculous.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-29-cents against the rand and the euro at 19-rand-18-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-20-cents and Bitcoin trades at 80-thousand-546-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-744-dollars-86-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 95-dollars-95-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….