News 11:00

BULLETIN 8 April 11 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# A political analyst says if the government of national unity survives it will be unsteady
# Boys are urged to speak out against sexual abuse by teachers
# And cricket: Gary Stead resigns as New Zealand’s white-ball coach

# Political analyst Daniel Silke says if the government of national unity survives, it’s going to be fractured, unsteady, and relatively volatile. Cracks are deepening in the coalition government as the ANC lashes out at the DA over recent missteps. Silke says rather than ditching the DA, the ANC would ultimately cave in to the demands of big business to work with the DA to ensure government does not collapse. He adds that a much more cohesive plan is necessary for the coalition government to succeed.

# The Afrikanerbond is concerned by the disappearance of the Afrikaans news bulletin this past weekend, without any communication from the SABC on the reasons behind the decision. SABC Nuus on SABC2 has a devoted audience of over 300-thousand. Afrikanerbond’s general secretary, Jan Bosman, says in July 2014, the public broadcaster took similar steps but had to revoke the decisions after pressure from civil society:

# Education activist Hendrick Makaneta urges boys to speak out against sexual abuse by male teachers. This follows after a former Pretoria teacher and principal, Martin Kotzé, who was accused of grooming young boys, died by suicide last month. Kotzé had reportedly admitted guilt to similar offences in a Randburg school hearing when he took his own life. Makaneta says it’s important to create a safe place for boys to report abuse without feeling ashamed:

# The United Nations says as ceasefires grow more fragile and conflict more unpredictable, peacekeeping has to adapt faster amid rising political tensions, disinformation, and confusion over mandates. Recent data suggests that there are at least 150 ongoing armed conflicts globally, including the Israeli-Hamas war. UN peace operations head, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, says while peacekeeping can be an integral part of a ceasefire monitoring regime, the success of any ceasefire remains the sole responsibility of the parties involved:

# Cricket: New Zealand’s head coach in all three formats, Gary Stead, will step down as white-ball coach when his contract expires in June. The 53-year-old steered the Black Caps to the inaugural World Test Championship title in 2021, and an unprecedented three-nil Test series sweep of India on the sub-continent last year. Stead says he will decide in the next few weeks if he will reapply to coach the Test team. Rob Walter, who resigned as the Proteas’ white-ball coach recently, has been heavily linked to take over from Stead.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 19-rand-42-cents and the euro at 21-rand-32-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-82-cents and Bitcoin trades at 79-thousand-436-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-and-10-dollars-66-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 64-dollars-60-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….