News 17:00

BULLETIN 5 May 5 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Hendrik Flynn of the Hawks tells the Madlanga-commission corruption enables organised crime
# Western Cape schools in Eden and the Central Karoo will be closed tomorrow and Thursday due to severe weather
# And, human to human hantavirus transmission is suspected on luxury cruise ship

# The head of the Hawk’s Serious Organised Crime unit, Hendrik Flynn, told the Madlanga Commission that organised crime cannot operate without corruption. He was testifying on the 2021 Port Shepstone cocaine theft, where 541 kilograms were stolen from police storage. Flynn said both public and private sector corruption enables criminal networks, allowing illicit goods to enter legal markets. He added that weak controls and intermediaries help disguise illegal proceeds as legitimate income:

# The Constitutional Court of South Africa has begun a three-day hearing into the legality of the National Health Insurance Act. The Board of Healthcare Funders and Western Cape Government argue that critical information including funding, costs, and operational details was not made public during the consultation, preventing informed participation. They say that Parliament failed to ensure meaningful public participation. President Cyril Ramaphosa has paused implementation pending judgment. A ruling against the Act could send it back to Parliament, delaying rollout of the national health insurance scheme.

# Western Cape Education MEC David Maynier says schools in parts of the Eden and Central Karoo districts will be closed tomorrow and Thursday due to severe rainfall warnings. This follows consultations with disaster management authorities and the South African Weather Service, with closures affecting selected circuits in George, Knysna and Oudtshoorn. Maynier added the decision was made in the interest of learner and teacher safety:

# The World Health Organisation suspects some rare human to human transmission took place between close contacts on board a luxury cruise ship hit by seven confirmed or suspected hantavirus cases. A Dutch couple and a German ‌national have died, while a British national is in intensive care in South Africa. The WHO says the focus now is to evacuate ⁠the sick passengers still onboard. It reiterates the risk to the wider public is low from a disease typically spread from infected rodents that only rarely passes between humans.

# Road running: London Marathon organisers explore the possibility of holding next year’s race across two days. A record of over 1.3-million athletes have applied to participate via the public ballot. The results will be released early in July, with places allocated through a random draw. Race CEO Hugh Brasher told the BBC the record number of applications establishes the marathon as one of the world’s best:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-66-cents against the rand and the euro at 19-rand-49-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-57-cents and Bitcoin trades at 81-thousand-311-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-567-dollars-44-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 110-dollars-41-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….