News 18:00

BULLETIN 11 February 6 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Pieter Groenewald says the Nelson Mandela Rules Academy empowers offenders for reintegration
# AfriForum urges Barbara Creecy to extend licence validity to eight years
# And, ActionSA will be opening a case against Paul O’Sullivan over the alleged 100-thousand-rand he received

# Correctional Services minister Pieter Groenewald says the newly launched Nelson Mandela Rules Training Academy in the Western Cape demonstrates that South Africa’s correctional system is evolving and relevant. Groenewald says the academy equips offenders with practical skills for rehabilitation, employability, and dignity. He highlights structured programmes and workshops that reduce costs, promote self-sufficiency, and enable former inmates to contribute positively to communities:

# AfriForum has written to Transport minister Barbara Creecy, urging her to implement the planned extension of driver’s licence card validity from five to eight years. The Transport 2025/2026 Annual Performance Plan is due to be be submitted to parliament by March 2026. AfriForum’s Louis Boshoff warns time is running out and cites past printer breakdowns that caused major backlogs. He says extending validity would ease demand and allow system upgrades:

# ActionSA Member of Parliament Dereleen James has challenged forensic investigator Paul O’Sullivan over 100-thousand-rand he received, saying his explanation contradicts earlier testimony to Parliament’s Ad Hoc Committee. James says O’Sullivan denied receiving any payment, yet receipts show he was paid from a crime intelligence slush fund. O’Sullivan maintains the money was a refund for expenses in former National Police commissioner Jackie Selebi investigation. She claims O’Sullivan lied under oath:

# India has introduced new rules that make it mandatory for social media companies to remove unlawful material within three hours of being notified, in a sharp tightening of the existing 36-hour deadline. The amended guidelines will take effect from 20 February and apply to major platforms including Meta, YouTube and X, as well as AI-generated content. The government did not provide a reason for reducing the takedown window. Critics worry the move is part of a broader tightening of oversight of online content that could lead to censorship in the world’s largest democracy.

# Cricket: England’s Test captain, Ben Stokes, will be out of action for some time after being struck in the face by a ball. He had to undergo surgery, posting pictures on social media afterwards showing him with a swollen face and joking the ball looked worse. Stokes isn’t part of England’s white-ball set-up anymore and isn’t participating in the T20 World Cup. He is currently playing county cricket for Durham and will only be back in Test cricket against New Zealand in June.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 15-rand-88-cents and the euro at 18-rand-84-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-68-cents and Bitcoin trades at 67-thousand-599-dollars. Gold sells at five-thousand-66-dollars-25-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 70-dollars-19-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….