News 13:00

BULLETIN 25 March 1 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# AfriForum accuses Fikile Mbalula of undermining the US talks
# Four suspects linked to an organised criminal syndicate are killed in Yeoville, Johannesburg
# And tennis: Coco Gauff is through to the Miami Open semis for the first time

# Lobby group AfriForum has accused ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula of undermining ongoing engagements with the US. This follows the release today of a dossier by die group critical of Mbalula’s conduct. AfriForum CEO Kallie Kriel claims Mbalula’s remarks against the US could harm negotiations and risk economic consequences for South Africa. He emphasises that the organisation will lobby for targeted international action against individuals, warning that broader sanctions could worsen unemployment and poverty. He says the dossier will expose Mbalula’s alleged corruption and degradation of governance.

# Four suspects have been killed in a shootout with police and private security in Yeoville, Johannesburg, this morning. One person was injured. According to reports, the suspects were allegedly linked to a gang responsible for a string of follow-home robberies targeting travellers from airports. Gauteng police spokesperson, Tintswalo Sibeko, says three firearms have been recovered from the scene.

# Cape Town mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis has launched the metro’s flagship redevelopment of Strandfontein Pavilion on the False Bay coast. The 300-million-rand refurbishment project is a multi-year capital injection aimed at transforming this day resort, which was originally constructed in the 1980s. Hill-Lewis says the plan for the upgrade project includes new commercial and restaurant spaces, an outdoor concert space in an open-air amphitheatre, and better safety and security:

# The Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia has rejected an application by SpaceX’s Starlink to operate in the country. Starlink, which has no Namibian shareholding, had applied to use frequency bands to provide fixed satellite services nationwide. Under Namibian law, at least 51-percent of any telecommunications company’s shares must be held by citizens or local entities. CRAN’s Mufaro Nesongano says the satellite internet company has been denied access to radio spectrum and a telecommunications service licence:

# Tennis: Two-time Grand Slam champion, Coco Gauff, is through to the Miami Open semifinals for the first time. The American battled past Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic, 6-3, 1-6, 6-3, to set up a clash with Czech 13th seed Karolina Muchova. In the men’s draw, 2018 finalist Alexander Zverev of Germany continued his quest for a maiden title in Miami with a 7-6, 7-6 win over Frenchman Quentin Halys. He will face Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo, who advanced to his fourth Miami quarterfinal with a 6-4, 6-3 win against Frenchman Ugo Humbert.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-89-cents and the euro at 19-rand-59-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-62-cents and Bitcoin trades at 71-thousand-177-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-543-dollars-28-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 96-dollars-4-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….