News 13:00

BULLETIN 2 April 1 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula’s attempt to halt her arrest has been dismissed
# A forum says the electricity increase of 12.74-percent will have devastating effects on the economy
# And tennis: Jannik Sinner eyes Novak Djokovic’s world number one position

# National Assembly speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula’s attempt to halt her imminent arrest amidst corruption allegations was dismissed by the High Court in Pretoria. The court struck the urgent application off the roll with costs against the speaker, noting that granting such an order could open the floodgates. Mapisa-Nqakula is under investigation for alleged corruption and money laundering during her time as minister of Defence and Military Veterans. Judge Sulet Potterill ruled that the court cannot declare an arrest unlawful before it happened:

# The Activists and Citizens Forum says the electricity increase of 12.74-percent, in combination with the increase in fuel prices, will have devastating effects on the already crippled economy. The forum predicts more businesses are going to close their doors, with the cost of living and unaffordable food affecting the poor the hardest. Spokesperson Dennis Bloem says the ANC government has totally failed to fulfil the promise of 1994 for a better life for all. He says in reality life is getting worse under the current government.

# SANParks in the Western Cape is encouraging residents to report any suspicious activities that may threaten the wildlife and protected areas in the province. A forty-four-year-old man was arrested in connection with alleged poaching after he was found with 34 kilogram of abalone at Grootbank which is on the western side of Nature’s Valley. SANParks spokesperson, JP Louw, says after noticing the patrol underway, four divers came out from the sea and started running:

# Tennis: Jannik Sinner can dethrone Novak Djokovic of Serbia as world number one if he continues his good form into the clay-court season. The Italian replaced Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz in second place after winning the Miami Open. Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria, who lost to Sinner in Sunday’s final, improved three places to ninth. Daniil Medvedev of Russia is still fourth, followed by German Alexander Zverev, Russian Andrey Rublev, Holger Rune of Denmark and Casper Ruud of Norway. Hubert Hurkacz of Poland completes the top ten.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-80-cents and the euro at 20-rand-20-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-64-cents and Bitcoin trades at 66-thousand-234-dollars-83-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-265-dollars-94-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 88-dollars-76-cents a barrel.

# And finally: Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire stands as the third-highest-grossing movie of the year. Three days after its release, the Warner Brothers and Legendary Entertainment movie has collected around 3.7-billion-rand globally. Directed by Adam Wingard, it stars Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, and Dan Stevens. Dune: Part Two is still the biggest movie of the year, followed by Kung Fu Panda 4. Godzilla x Kong producer Mary Parent says they wanted to deliver something highly entertaining to audiences.

Stay tuned for more news………….