News 15:00

BULLETIN 22 May 3 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# A South African activist alleges Israeli forces tortured him over his nationality
# The India-Africa summit is postponed over the Ebola outbreak
# And rugby: Cupido and Human are added to the Blitzbok squad for the European tour

# South African activist Ebrahim Peters claims he was tortured by Israeli forces because of his nationality after being detained during a Gaza-bound humanitarian mission. He was among six members of Global Sumud Flotilla South Africa who were stopped at sea. The group has since been released and is expected back in South Africa tomorrow. Peters says they were detained in international waters and held without charge in Israel:

# Union federation Cosatu has welcomed the International Court of Justice’s ruling in defence of workers’ inalienable right to strike. The court ruled that the right to strike is protected under the International Labour Organisation’s 1948 Freedom of Association treaty. Cosatu’s Matthew Parks says to strike is a critical tool of collective bargaining:

# The Public Servants Association is dismayed by the disappearance of millions of rand from the Department of Employment and Labour’s Compensation Fund. Auditors have uncovered missing documents, fraudulent bank accounts, cybersecurity flaws, and a 71-million-rand loss in the past two financial years. PSA’s Claude Naicker says systematic vulnerabilities currently plaguing the fund have created a playground for syndicates and corrupt people, operating with absolute impunity:

# The African Union and India have postponed the India-Africa forum summit due to the worsening Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Health officials say the outbreak has spread to an area controlled by M23 rebels in South Kivu province. The World Health Organisation says more than 139 deaths and 600 suspected cases have been recorded. Efforts to contain the outbreak have been complicated by conflict, aid shortages and the disease spreading into densely populated urban areas.

# Rugby: Backline players Dewald Human and Gino Cupido have been included in the Springbok Sevens squad that will travel to Spain and France on Sunday to compete in the final two Sevens World Championship tournaments, in Valladolid and Bordeaux. The duo missed out on the first of the three World Championship events, won by the Blitzboks in Hong Kong last month, due to injury. Coach Philip Snyman says Human gives the team an extra flyhalf option, while Cupido replaces Donavan Don at centre.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-50-cents and the euro at 19-rand-13-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-14-cents and Bitcoin trades at 77-thousand-173-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-513-dollars-48-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 102-dollars-43-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….