News 18:00

BULLETIN 14 March 6 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The DA denies the ANC’s allegations of budget negotiation tactics
# The Electoral Commission announces the cancellation of registrations for inactive political parties
# And measles cases have doubled in Europe and Central Asia last year to the highest since 1997

# The DA has refuted claims by the ANC that it is leveraging budget discussions to negotiate its position within the government of national unity. ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula accused the DA of attempting to reverse transformative laws like the National Health Insurance Act. Responding on Newzroom Afrika, the DA’s Mark Burke criticised the ANC’s policies:

# The Electoral Commission has announced the cancellation of registrations for 192 inactive political parties. These parties, which have not contested elections or renewed their registration by January, have until 24 March to respond. The move aims to keep the party register current, eliminate confusion for voters, and free up party names and symbols for active parties. The IEC’s Kate Bapela says there are currently 609 registered political parties, with 383 at national level.

# One of three men implicated in the murder of Eastern Cape woman Vicki Terblanche was sentenced to 25-year in prison by the High Court in Gqeberha. Thirty-six-year-old Reinhardt Leach assisted in the murder of his girlfriend in October 2021. Sy was given a drug overdose, suffocated and buried in a shallow grave. The state argued Leach conspired with Terblanche’s estranged husband, Arnold Terblanche, and a third man, Dylan Cullis, who took a plea deal earlier and was sentenced to 18-years. Arnold Terblanche’s trial starts in October.

# Measles cases in Europe and Central Asia doubled last year compared to 2023, with the World Health Organisation and UNICEF warning it is a wake-up call. More than 40-percent of the 127-thousand-350 reported European cases in 2024 were children under five. It is the highest number of cases since 1997. Half a million children across the region missed their first measles vaccine. Two doses of the vaccine are believed to be 97-percent effective in preventing one of the most contagious viruses for humans.

# Boxing: South Africa’s top female boxer, Simangele “Smash” Hadebe, is set for a challenging fight against Mexico’s Gabriela Sanchez for the World Boxing Council’s Silver Flyweight title at the Zaragoza Olympic Stadium in Mexico next month. Ranked fourth globally and number one in Africa, Hadebe returns after two years of setbacks. She says this is a career-defining fight to inspire female boxers in South Africa:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-16-cents and the euro at 19-rand-76-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-50-cents and Bitcoin trades at 82-thousand-859-dollars. Gold sells at two-thousand-988-dollars-97-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 69-dollars-76-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….