News 14:00

BULLETIN 25 April 2 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# A trial within a trial is taking place in Ace Magashule’s asbestos court case
# Lesotho holds a special Mass to honour the late Pope Francis
# And tennis: Carlos Alcaraz hopes to be fit to defend his French Open title

# Free State High Court Judge Phillip Loubser has ruled that former premier Ace Magashule’s former personal assistant Moroadi Cholota’s challenge to the court’s jurisdiction over her US extradition, will be handled in a trial within a trial. Cholota, together with Magashule and others, face charges in the 255-million-rand asbestos case. She says her extradition was unlawful. Loubser found the state failed to justify continuing the main trial before resolving her special plea:

# AfriForum has submitted written objections to proposed amendments to the Private Security Industry Regulation Act, backed by over 12-thousand signatures. AfriForum’s Jacques Broodryk warns that the changes could disarm private security and endanger public safety. Broodryk emphasised threats to homes, schools, and prisons. He also confirmed that AfriForum has filed a Promotion of Access to Information Act request, seeking clarity on the impact to correctional facilities:

# The N3 Toll Concession and its road incident management system partners are ready for an expected increase in southbound traffic volumes towards KwaZulu-Natal from this afternoon until late in the evening. Spokesperson Thania Dhoogra says road users are reminded to always be prepared for sudden changes in weather conditions which could impact the flow of traffic, and cause congestion and delays:

# The Kingdom of ​Lesotho has held a special Mass at the Our Lady of Victory Cathedral in Maseru to honour the late Pope Francis. The country is home to a significant Roman Catholic community. Queen Masenate Seeiso and prime minister Sam Matekane, who are both devout Catholics, attended the service and offered their condolences. The church’s Archbishop Tllali Lerotholi praised the pontiff’s desire for peace to reign in war torn countries.

# Tennis: World number two Carlos Alcaraz hopes to be fit for the defence of his French Open title. The Spaniard withdrew from his home tournament in Madrid yesterday with hamstring and groin injuries sustained during his defeat to Holger Rune of Denmark in the final of the Barcelona Open. Alcaraz says he will undergo more medical tests next week and will then know how long he will be sidelined. The French Open, the claycourt Grand Slam tournament, starts in Paris on the 25th of next month.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-89-cents and the euro at 21-rand-43-cents. One British pound costs 25-rand-9-cents and Bitcoin trades at 93-thousand-901-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-302-dollars-89-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 65-dollars-45-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….