News 17:00

BULLETIN 28 January 5 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# AfriForum demands the public release of the Defence Force’s findings in its DRC probe
# The DA’s federal council gears up for the local elections and pledges to fix troubled municipalities
# And cricket: Nine spectators are already sharing the two-million-rand’s prize money in the SA20

# AfriForum is calling for an immediate investigation into the deaths of 13 South African soldiers in the Democratic Republic of Congo following an attack by M23 rebels. The demand follows reports of alleged misconduct in the SANDF’s involvement in peacekeeping efforts under the United Nations’ stabilisation mission in the DRC. AfriForum’s Jacques Broodryk demands answers regarding risk assessments, coordination with other forces, and support for the families of the fallen soldiers:

# The DA’s federal council has pledged to fix troubled municipalities ahead of the upcoming local government elections. The party promises to rescue towns and cities from further decline, addressing widespread issues of mismanagement, poor service delivery, and deteriorating infrastructure. In a media address, DA federal chairperson Ivan Meyer said the party is focused on electing capable councillors who will prioritise fixing essential services such as water, electricity, and roads:

# The Independent Police Investigative Directorate has highlighted oversight challenges amid case backlogs and limited capacity. The directorate reports that each of its 167 investigators handles around 300 cases annually, straining efforts. IPID’s latest report, covering 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024, records over 15-thousand unresolved cases, despite completing four-thousand-667 investigations. The limited capacity means only 24-percent of crime scenes are attended within 24-hours. Spokesperson Lizzy Suping cites budget constraints as a major challenge. She says vacant support roles are currently being converted into investigator positions to boost capacity.

# Pakistan criminalised online disinformation, passing legislation that enshrines punishments of up to three years in prison. Journalists say this is designed to crack down on dissent. The law targets anyone who intentionally disseminates information online that they have reason to believe to be false or fake and likely to cause or create a sense of fear, panic, disorder or unrest. The law was rushed through the National Assembly with little warning before being approved by the Senate as journalists walked out of the gallery in protest.

# Cricket: Nine spectators are already sharing two-million-rand in the SA20. The sponsor has offered the amount, to be shared between all spectators at stadiums who catch a ball with one hand. The latest catch took place in Paarl last night, where Paarl Royals defeated Durban’s Super Giants. The others were at Newlands, Centurion, Durban, and Gqeberha. The prize is currently worth 222-thousand to each of the winners, with the sponsor promising to double the winnings for a spectator who possesses a valid Betway South Africa account.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-69-cents and the euro at 19-rand-48-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-22-cents and Bitcoin trades at 102-thousand-804-dollars. Gold sells at two-thousand-746-dollars-49-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 76-dollars-93-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….