Environmental group,The Green Connection launched its public awareness and information sharing campaign - which is part of a bigger initiative, called Who Stole Our Oceans - in a bid to stop further government investment in fossil fuels, particularly offshore oil, and gas. Joined by people involved in small-scale fishing and various other civil society organisations,  the Eco-justice organisation is pushing government to instead focus on the just transition to renewable energy. This comes as environmental groups head back to court on MONDAY to prevent oil company, Shell, from proceeding with it's offshore seismic survey in the Eastern Cape without proper consultations. Udo Carelse spoke to Liz McDaid, Strategic Lead at The Green Connection ....

The Sport, Arts and Culture Department this week made a sudden and dramatic U-TURN when it announced that it will review its proposed flag project worth R22-million.  This comes after South Africans voiced their frustration regarding the amount proposed to be spent and the cause. The 100 metre flag pole was meant to be erected at Freedom Park in Pretoria in a move that was supposed to promote social cohesion and tourism. Minister Nathi Mthethwa's critics have called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to fire him. The president has since instructed the minister to cancel the project. 

We spoke to Sibongile Mngoma, Opera singer and activist, and Dr Unathi Henama, tourism academic at the Tshwane University of Technology

The Robben Island Museum says although the tourism industry is opening due the lifting of some Covid 19 restrictions, they are still not getting that much visitors.  Tourism was one of the sectors  that was hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.  The anticipated boom of tourists after lock-down has not materialized for Robben Island as people are not flocking to see Nelson Mandela's old prison cell anymore. We spoke to Melany Kuhn, Spokesperson for Robben Island Museum... 

Sweden and Finland this week submitted their applications to be part of the Western defence alliance, NATO, marking a major shift in European geopolitics. Once-neutral Finland and Sweden are abandoning years of military non-alignment, driven to join NATO's mutual defense pact in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The enlargement of Nato was cited by Russian President Vladamir Putin as one of the key threats to Russian security that prompted the invasion of Ukraine. However in recent weeks fellow NATO member Turkey has been hardening it's public stand against the expansion effort accusing Sweden and Finland of being too receptive to Turkish Kurdish groups that president Recep Erdogan calls terrorists. To discuss this we are joined on the line by Denys Reva, security expert from the Institute for Security Studies .........

Orlando Pirates unlucky in  the CAF Confederations Cup 

This week's decision by the Reserve Bank to hike interest rates by 50 basis points, taking the repo rate to 4.75%, the biggest rate jump in six years, will further squeeze an already pressed consumer and economy.  But with a massive fuel price hike looming on the horizon, it can only get worse. Next month's fuel increase can potentially push prices to as high as R25 per litre at the pumps. Some are calling on the government to extend its temporary relief on fuel taxes to be extended beyond the 31 May deadline. The Road Freight Association has warned that uncontrolled fuel increases can lead to a collapse of the road freight logistics sector. We spoke to CEO of the Road Freight Association, Gavin Kelly.

There are increasing reports of residents from various communities around the country being attacked by Pit Bulls. About five months ago, a three-year-old girl was mauled to death by a pit bull in Zwide, Cape Town. Neighbours intervened but it was too late to save the child. Recently, a six-year-old girl was also mauled to death by a neighbour's pit bull inside the house where they were playing at Marabastad informal settlement in Atteridgeville, Tshwane. The dog allegedly charged towards the four children and one was unlucky and did not make it out of the yard alive. In another incident, just last week, in Johannesburg, our SABC colleague Risha Muduray's mother was attacked by a Pit Bull while taking her afternoon walk in the complex where she lives. She is still recovering from her injuries.

We also spoke to Lins Rautenbacht, Public Relations Officer of the Pit Bull Federation of South Africa

More than 160-million children are labourers and over 106 million of that figure are children out of school. This is according to the International Labour Organisation  (ILO). ILO says the number of children in child labour increased by 8.4 million children in the last four years. Now, The 5th Global Conference on the elimination of Child Labour takes place for the first time on the African continent, in Durban,Kwa Zulu Natal from TODAY until Friday.The conference organised by the (ILO) and United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) aims to  push for accelerated action towards elimination of child labour.. President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to open the conference.We spoke to Redha Ameur, Regional Specialist with the  International Labour Organisation, based in Pretoria...

A number of homeless people living near the Castle of Good  Hope in Cape Town have been slapped with R 1000 fines by the city's law enforcement officials allegedly for various offenses including littering. Some of the homeless people say this is a waste of resources by the city because they never attend court or pay any fines. In fact, they allegedly destroy these receipts as soon as officers leave, after issuing them. They say now that winter is approaching, they are expecting more and more visits from law officials. We spoke to  Councillor Mzwakhe Nqavashe, Chairperson of Cape Town's Safety and Security Portfolio Committee

 Sri Lanka's main opposition party has joined anti-government protesters in rejecting the appointment of a new prime minister and is insisting the president must resign to take responsibility for the country's disastrous economic crisis. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa appointed five-time prime minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, to his sixth term on Thursday, a move unlikely to resolve the political and economic turmoil in the Indian Ocean island nation. A week of violent clashes between protesters and government supporters across the country has left nine people dead and more than 300 wounded. The president's elder brother, Mahinda Rajapaksa, quit as prime minister on Monday as violence spiraled out of control. 
To get some insights into the crisis we are joined by someone who understands Sri Lanka after having spent years in the country.We spoke to South Africa's former High Commissioner to Sri Lanka and a member of the In Transformation Initiative, Geoff Doidge ....