Durban – In our top story, International Relations Minister Naledi Pandor has made it clear that the 15th BRICS Summit in August will be held in Johannesburg.
This amid reports that the summit could be moved to a country that is not a signatory to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
The summit’s precursor meeting of foreign affairs ministers in Cape Town is being overshadowed by how Russian President Vladimir Putin will be treated should he accept his invitation to attend.
Pandor said that this gathering was focused on providing leadership in a world fractured by geo-political tensions and deteriorating security.
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ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula on Thursday visited the Hammanskraal area following the deadly cholera outbreak that has claimed more than 20 lives.
Mbalula paid a visit to some of the bereaved families after he met with scores of locals at the Mandela Hall, where community members laid bare their water struggles.
They shared their grievances about the dirty water and poor service delivery in the area.
As aggrieved community members raised their concerns, one suggested that government should compensate families who lost their loved ones to the preventable infection, placing the compensation figure at around R6m for each life lost.
The elderly complained that they could not afford to buy water since their tap water was deemed unsafe for consumption, and there was no certainty that the water received from tankers was also safe.
Mbalula said they will return to the area in about two weeks to monitor progress on the issues that the community raised that needs to be addressed.
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And in the sports world, Cristiano Ronaldo’s first season in Saudi Arabia ended with a whimper, but with hundreds of millions in wages and unprecedented attention on Saudi football he may not be the last mega-star to grace the oil-rich kingdom.
The fireworks and euphoria that greeted Ronaldo’s gala unveiling in January were in sharp contrast to the close of Al Nassr’s season, when the Portuguese sat out a 3-0 win against Al Fateh late on Wednesday.
Despite signing the five-time Ballon d’Or-winner in a two-and-a-half-year deal said to total 400 million euros ($428million), Al Nassr finished second in the Saudi Pro League without any silverware, although they qualified for the Asian Champions League as a consolation.
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You know we love to end off with a feel good story, Minister in the Presidency for Women, Youth, and Persons with Disabilities (DWYPD), Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, led a wreath-laying ceremony at the Hector Pietersen Memorial as she officially unveiled this year’s Youth Month.
Dlamini-Zuma has called on government departments and private stakeholders to partner with her department, as it is a department without much budget and relies on advocacy to further its own programmes.
This year’s Youth Month activities seek to present opportunities available to young people through showcasing and celebrating young change-makers.
The 2023 Youth Month will be celebrated under the theme “Accelerating collaborations and opportunities to improve the lives of the youth“.
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