News 17:00

BULLETIN 14 May 5 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Major vehicle recalls are announced in South Africa due to safety defects
# An ex-police detective is jailed for 10 years for plotting to kill a senior officer
# And cricket: Eight Proteas Test players will miss the final week of the IPL

# The National Consumer Commission has announced urgent vehicle recalls affecting top brands across South Africa. Jeep Wrangler and Chrysler 300C models from 2014 to 2016 face dangerous Takata airbag defects. Citroën 2009 to 2016, Mercedes-Benz 2020 and 2023, Audi from October 2021, Volkswagen since April 2025 and Volvo models 2020 to 2022 are impacted by brake, battery, and seatbelt faults. The commission says these pose serious risks, including brake failure. Affected vehicle owners are urged to visit authorised dealerships immediately for inspection and critical repairs.

# Former police detective Roshanlal Banawo has been sentenced to ten-years in prison by the Newcastle Magistrate’s Court in KwaZulu-Natal for conspiring to murder Umzinyathi’s district commissioner. Francis Slambert survived two assassinations attempts in 2023. Banawo was dismissed from the force in 2021 after 39-years, six months before his retirement, over drug links. Judge Ian Colditz acquitted the hitmen who turned state witnesses:

# The Western Cape Department of Education says parents have until this Friday to submit late online applications for grade R, one and eight placements for the 2026 school year. So far, over eight-thousand-600 late applications have been received, bringing the total applications to nearly 174-thousand. The department’s Bronagh Hammond warns that after the deadline, parents will need to apply in person at district offices or schools:

# The head of Russia’s only independent election watchdog was sent to a penal colony for five years after a court found him guilty of working with an undesirable organisation. The 44-year-old co-chairperson of the Golos movement, Grigory Melkonyants, who was arrested in August 2023, pleaded not guilty. Reuters quotes human rights campaigners who describes the case against him as part of a wider crackdown on civil society that has intensified since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

# Cricket: Eight South African Test players involved in the Indian Premier League will return home on the 25th to start preparing for the final of the World Test Championship against Australia, starting in London on 11 June. This means they will miss the play-offs. Kagiso Rabada, Aiden Markram, Marco Jansen, Lungi Ngidi, Tristan Stubbs, Wiaan Mulder, Ryan Rickelton and Corbin Bosh will return, but David Miller and Heinrich Klaasen, who are not part of the Test squad, will be available until the final on the third of June.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-28-cents and the euro at 20-rand-52-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-35-cents and Bitcoin trades at 104-thousand-36-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-187-dollars-81-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 65-dollars-95-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….