NEWSFLASH NEWS AGENCY 5 February 9 am

Good morning,

In this bulletin:

# Raymond Zondo’s interview descends into heated spat
# The DA welcomes the Constitutional Court’s judgment on the public protector inquiry
# And, a police officer has been killed in a Sasolburg cash-in-transit heist

# Minister of Justice and Correction Services Ronald Lamola accused EFF leader Julius Malema of lying during Raymond Zondo’s Judicial Service Commission interview last night. Malema demanded clarity on a letter Lamola had written to Zondo. The minister ended up withdrawing his accusation but said Malema was out of order. By then, the spat had descended into a shouting match:

Play sound: ENGLamolaandLamola

# The DA welcomes the Constitutional Court judgment on the public protector, Busisiwe Mkhwebane. The court dismissed her application against having a judge serve on the independent panel that decided whether there was a prima facie case against her. The party views the judgment as a victory in the fight to restore the independence in the office of the public protector. The DA’s Natasha Mazzone says they now look forward to making substantial contributions to the inquiry:

Play sound: ENG-NatashaMazzone

# A police member has been killed in a cash-in-transit robbery in the Free State. Netcare 911 spokesperson Shaun Herbst says an armoured vehicle came under fire and was blown up on the R-57 near Sasolburg yesterday. Herbst says three occupants from the armoured vehicle and another police officer sustained moderate injuries. Police spokesperson Athlenda Mathe says the suspects fled with an undisclosed amount of money in a white Toyota Fortuner and a red Hyundai SUV.

# Four people have died and another is missing after an avalanche in the Alps near the Swiss-Austrian border. Officials say at least 31 separate avalanches have been reported. Four have left people injured. Tyrol’s emergency services control centre, Patrick Ortler, told journalists five people were rescued at the Soelden resort. The identities and nationalities of the four people who died, and the fifth missing person, have not yet been revealed.

# And cricket: Joe Root is again trusted with England’s Test captaincy despite the team’s woeful performance in the recent Ashes Series against Australia. He was appointed to lead the team in next month’s tour of the West Indies. Earlier head coach Chris Silverwood, batting coach Graham Thorpe and managing director Ashley Giles were all forced to fall on their swords after the 0-4 series humiliation Down Under. Andrew Strauss, who is standing in for Giles, says Root is obviously hurt by the Ashes debacle, but the players respect him.

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