News 15:00

BULLETIN 23 January 3 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Foundation for Human Rights seeks constitutional damages for survivors of apartheid-era atrocities
# The DA’s federal chairperson condemns misguided speculation regarding a possible early elective congress
# And tennis: Paulo Badosa is no match for two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka in the Australian Open semifinal

# The Foundation for Human Rights and families of apartheid-era victims are suing the government for failing to act on Truth and Reconciliation Commission cases. They want the court to declare their rights were violated, provide funding for investigations and memorials, and order an inquiry into political interference. Briefing the media, the foundation’s Odette Geldenhuys said the goal is to bring truth and closure to survivors and families:

# DA federal chairperson Ivan Meyer is cautioning all South Africans on misguided speculation regarding a possible early elective congress for the purpose of electing new leadership before the expiry of the current three-year term. There has been rumours that John Steenhuisen might be replaced as leader this year. Meyer says media speculation has no foundation in any decision-making structure of the party:

# The Department of Agriculture has cautioned farmers against moving plants to prevent the spread of a detected bud rot in papaya orchards in Limpopo and Mpumalanga. The department says this destructive pathogen threatens crops like citrus and pineapples. It says phytosanitary measures are now in place, with officials conducting surveys to assess the outbreak. Farmers are urged to adopt strict control measures, while travellers are warned against illegally importing agricultural goods.

# Russia says it saw nothing new in US president Donald Trump’s latest remarks on the Ukraine conflict, but Moscow was ready for mutually respectful dialogue with him. The new US leader yesterday threatened fresh sanctions on Moscow if it did not strike a deal to end its nearly three-year offensive on Ukraine. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov says it was clear from Trump’s first presidency that he liked sanctions. Expectations are high that Russian president Vladimir Putin and Trump will soon hold a phone call on the conflict.

# Tennis: Paulo Badosa was no match for two-time defending champion, Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, in the semifinal of the Australian Open. The world number one advanced to the final for the third consecutive year after easily beating the 11th-seeded Spaniard 6-4, 6-2. The 26-year-old is one step closer to her fourth Grand Slam title. Her opponent in Saturday’s final in Melbourne will be the winner of the second semifinal between world number two, Iga Swiatek of Poland, and 19th-seeded American Madison Keys.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-56-cents and the euro at 19-rand-33-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-88-cents and Bitcoin trades at 101-thousand-939-dollars. Gold sells at two-thousand-751-dollars-57-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 78-dollars-49-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….