News 12:00

BULLETIN 22 April 12 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The ANC loses its trademark case against the MK Party
# Business Leadership SA says the IMF’s outlook on the country is depressing 
# And motorsport: Mercedes plans to bring much-needed upgrades to Miami 

# The High Court in Durban has dismissed the ANC’s trademark case against the MK Party with costs. The ruling party had accused the MK Party of violating the Trademarks Act by using a name and logo similar to that of the ANC’s disbanded MK military wing. The ANC argued the use of the name would lead to voter confusion in the upcoming elections.

# Business Leadership South Africa says the International Monetary Fund’s outlook is a depressing reminder of how far the country is from the kind of economic performance it should be achieving. The fund has cut South Africa’s economic growth outlook to 0.9-percent for the year. The organisation’s CEO, Busisiwe Mavuso, says the IMF’s forecasts reflect the many headwinds facing the economy, from the logistics crisis to the ongoing electricity shortages and the wider infrastructure failures. She says government needs to urgently accelerate reforms.

# Western Cape premier Alan Winde says the challenges at the port of Cape Town are concerning. This is despite the port moving off the port congestion top 30 watch list of the global vessel tracking platform, Linerlytica, improving to position 50 this week. This is from position 49 last week and 26 the previous week. Winde says a functional container terminal in the port over the next four years could translate into 5.6-billion-rand in economic growth, and 20-thousand new job opportunities:

# Motorsport: Formula One team Mercedes’s principal, Toto Wolff, says they will have upgrades to the car for the Miami Grand Prix next weekend. Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, who is experiencing his worst start to an F1 season, finished ninth in the Chinese Grand Prix with his teammate George Russell in sixth. Wolff says major changes are needed to the car as it lacks pace:

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 19-rand-13-cents and the euro at 20-rand-37-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-65-cents and Bitcoin trades at 66-thousand-117-dollars-15-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-358-dollars-92-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 85-dollars-93-cents a barrel.

# And finally: Founder of Young Hearts Africa, doctor Wilhelm Lichtenberg, says his goal is to increase access to medical care for more children born with congenital heart disease while fostering research and training to bridge the skills gap. He recently received the Thoracic Surgery Foundation Every Heartbeat Matters Award, for his work in providing life-saving surgeries to South African children with the disease. Lichtenberg says Young Hearts Africa, in partnership with the Red Cross Children’s Hospital in Cape Town, has to date provided life-saving surgery for 30 children with the disease.

Stay tuned for more news………….