News 15:00

BULLETIN 17 April 3 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Road Accident Fund calls on road users to make this Easter a fatality free weekend
# AfriForum hands water pistols to Senzo Mchunu’s office in protest against the Security Bill
# And Tennis: Ukraine’s Lesia Tsurenko takes legal action against the WTA

# The Road Accident Fund is calling on South African road users to make this Easter fatality free by using the roads responsibly. Easter 2024 recorded the highest Easter weekend fatalities since 2019 with 335 deaths. The fund’s spokesperson, McIntosh Polela, says road fatalities and trauma result in devastating emotional, social and economic costs to the victims, their families and the country. He adds that this calls for an immediate change of attitude by all road users:

# AfriForum has handed water pistols to Police minister Senzo Mchunu’s office in protest of proposed Security Bill regulations, that could disarm private security officers. The civil rights group also submitted a letter opposing the amendments under the Private Security Industry Regulation Act. AfriForum’s Jacques Broodryk, says the proposals would cripple the industry, endanger lives, and are hypocritical, given the state’s reliance on private security:

# US secretary of State, Marco Rubio, will meet French president Emmanuel Macron today about crafting a Ukraine ceasefire, as Washington and Europe seek common ground on ending the fighting. Top Ukrainian officials are also in the French capital to meet European Union and US delegations. Rubio and US president Donald Trump’s special envoy to Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, arrived in Paris, with US envoy Steve Witkoff expected to join, as Trump’s push for a ceasefire has yet to bear fruit despite his pledges to quickly end the war.

# Tennis: Ukraine’s Lesia Tsurenko says she is taking legal action against the WTA, alleging abuse. In a post on X, the 35-year-old made a string of accusations against an unnamed executive of the women’s tour. The world number 88 accused the executive of mental abuse, saying this led to her having panic attacks, hampering her career. She claims she did not receive support from the WTA when she reported the abuse. Tsurenko says her last chance to defend herself is to seek justice in court.

# Financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-83-cents and the euro at 21-rand-40-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-92-cents and Bitcoin trades at 84-thousand-320-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-331-dollars-10-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 65-dollars-81-cents a barrel.

# And finally: A haunting portrait of a nine-year-old Palestinian boy who lost both arms during an Israeli attack on Gaza City won the 2025 World Press Photo of the Year Award. The picture, by Samar Abu Elouf for The New York Times, depicts Mahmoud Ajjour, evacuated to Doha after an explosion severed one arm and mutilated the other last year. The photographer is also from Gaza and was herself evacuated in December 2023. She now portrays badly wounded Palestinians based in Doha.

Stay tuned for more news………….