News 18:00

BULLETIN 16 April 6 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Julius Malema calls for a misconduct probe after magistrate Twanet Olivier’s conviction
# A second deadly gang shooting rocks Delft in Cape Town this week
# And, Jannik Sinner holds on to the number one tennis ranking after Alcaraz’s withdrawal from Barcelona

# EFF leader Julius Malema has launched a scathing attack on Magistrate Twanet Olivier, of the East London Magistrate’s Court in KuGompo City, Eastern Cape, describing her as incompetent and calling for a misconduct complaint. Addressing supporters outside the court, Malema accused the court of bias and political interference following his five-year sentence on contraventions of the Firearms Act . He also criticised the prosecution team and alleged procedural misconduct. He vowed the EFF would not be discouraged:

In response to the Malema-judgment the GOOD Party says it supports holding EFF leader Julius Malema accountable for his firearm case, but his five-year prison sentence appears overly harsh. The party believes the rule of law must apply equally to all but warns against political overreach and performative justice. GOOD secretary-general Brett Herron says the state must act without fear or favour, ensuring fairness and consistency, while avoiding actions that could turn political figures into martyrs:

# A 13-year-old is among four people killed in a mass shooting in Delft, Cape Town, last night, the second such incident in the area this week. Gunmen opened fire on a house in Zandkloof Street, killing three men and a teenager. A suspected gang attack in nearby Leiden on Sunday resulted in the shooting of six people, including a 12-year-old boy, who died. Police say the Anti-Gang Unit is investigating both incidents, which are linked to ongoing gang violence in the area.

# Tennis: Italian Jannik Sinner will hold on to the men’s number one world ranking after his great adversary, Carlos Alcaraz, had to withdraw from the Barcelona Open in his native Spain. The two-time champion suffered a wrist injury, which raised fears for his participation in next month’s claycourt Grand Slam tournament, the French Open. A title victory in Barcelona would have seen Alcaraz reclaim the top position, which Sinner snatched from him by winning the Monte Carlo Masters last weekend.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-40-cents against the rand and the euro at 19-rand-31-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-22-cents and Bitcoin trades at 73-thousand-865-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-801-dollars-11-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 94-dollars-10-cents a barrel.

# And finally, Turkish police have launched a wide-ranging crackdown following deadly school shootings, arresting 83 people for allegedly promoting crime and praising perpetrators in connection with the attacks. Nine people were killed and 13 others injured when a learner opened fire at a school in Kahramanmaraş yesterday. This followed Tuesday’s shooting, where a former learner opened fire on his old school, injuring 16 people before killing himself. As part of the crackdown, authorities also blocked access to 940 social media accounts and shut down 93 Telegram groups.

Stay tuned for more news………….