News 14:00

BULLETIN 3 April 2 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# A man is sentenced to eleven life terms for the rape of six minor boys in the Easten Cape
# The death toll in the Marry Me killings rises to seven
# And rugby: Siviwe Soyizwapi says the Blitzboks have a fresh focus heading into Singapore

# The Eastern Cape High Court in Gqeberha has sentenced a 31-year-old man to eleven life terms for eleven counts of raping six minor boys, aged between eleven and 13. The National Prosecuting Authority’s spokesperson, Luxolo Tyali says in May 2015 near Motherwell, the victims were swimming behind the stadium when they encountered Thembelani Andries:

# The death toll in the Marry Me informal settlement killings in Soshanguve, Pretoria, has risen to seven after another community patroller died in hospital. The night patrollers who volunteered to fight crime and ensure safety in the community, were assaulted last month. Residents are demanding the area be formalised to curb crime. During a community imbizo, Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi announced a specialised task team to tackle crime and pledged increased police presence to restore safety in Soshanguve and surrounding townships.

# ActionSA says it is committed to protecting South Africans from an increasing tax burden, rejecting the proposed 0.5-percentage point VAT hike and personal income tax bracket creep. It voted in favour of the budget yesterday. The party has outlined alternative revenue solutions, including boosting the South African Revenue Service’s capacity to recover lost revenue and cracking down on illicit trade. ActionSA’s Athol Trollip says poor government spending and mismanagement should not be passed onto taxpayers:

# The Slovak government has approved the shooting of 350 bears citing danger posed to people, a move conservationists slammed as unlawful. The decision follows several bear attacks on people, including the discovery of the remains of a man in central Slovakia probably killed by a bear on Sunday. Prime minister Robert Fico says they cannot live in a country where people are afraid to go to the woods. Fico’s government has also declared a state of emergency in most Slovak districts over “undesirable” bear presence.

# Rugby: Springbok Sevens player Siviwe Soyizwapi says they are heading into the Singapore tournament this weekend with a clear mission to finish the regular season strong. The Blitzboks struggled in Hong Kong last weekend, finishing in ninth place after failing to reach the quarterfinals. South Africa is fourth on the overall world series standings on 66 points, with leaders Argentina on 88. Soyizwapi says each tournament has its own merits and they have to start all over again:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-76-cents and the euro at 20-rand-85-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-76-cents and Bitcoin trades at 83-thousand-505-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-114-dollars-36-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 71-dollars-39-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….