News 08:00

BULLETIN 27 January 8 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# President Ramaphosa urges Israel to halt the human tragedy unfolding in Gaza
# The FF Plus criticises ANC’s double standards in a World Court ruling on Israel
# And, tennis: The finals of the Australian Open take place in Melbourne this weekend

# President Cyril Ramphosa says the International Court of Justice’s ruling against Israel is a victory for international law, and justice for the Palestinian people. The president welcomed the provisional measures ordered by the court, seeking to protect the human rights of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. The landmark ruling has determined that Israel’s actions in Gaza are plausibly genocidal. Briefing the media, Ramaphosa has said the provisional measures are directly binding Israel to halt the human tragedy unfolding in Gaza:

The Freedom Front Plus has, meanwhile, criticised the ANC’s alleged double standards following the court’s ruling on South Africa’s plea against Israel’s actions in Gaza. The party slammed the government’s priorities, pointing to economic challenges and a high murder rate within the country. Party leader Pieter Groenewald challenges the ANC’s decision to pursue international matters over pressing domestic issues including unemployment. Groenewald seeks transparency on the costs incurred by South African taxpayers towards the case:

In another development, the Israeli flag carrier El Al has announced that it will suspend its operations on the Johannesburg-Tel Aviv route from the end of March 2024. The decision comes as a result of a significant decrease in demand by Israeli travellers to South Africa and other destinations. The final El Al flight from Tel Aviv to Johannesburg is scheduled to depart on March 27. This announcement coincides with other international airlines suspending flights to Tel Aviv or advising against travel to Israel.

# Back home: The Independent Electoral Commission and the Department of Correctional Services are gearing up for the voter registration of inmates from Tuesday to Thursday. The IEC is facilitating identity document delivery to correctional centres by reaching out to inmates’ families. Family members are urged to provide green-barcoded ID books, smart cards, or temporary identification certificates. Correctional centres will accept IDs for inmates serving sentences in distant locations. The commission states inmates have the right to vote, urging them to participate in this year’s elections by updating their voter registration details.

# And, tennis: The finals of the women’s and men’s singles at the Australian Open will be decided this weekend. Today it will be defending champion Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus against China’s Qinwen Zheng, who qualified for her first Grand Slam final. Tomorrow, Russian Daniil Medvedev hopes it’s third time lucky after losing in two previous title matches. He plays Italian Jannik Sinner, who unexpectedly defeated ten-time champion Novak Djokovic of Serbia to reach his first Grand Slam final. The winners will each earn 40-million-rand, and the losers, 22-million.

Stay tuned for more news………….