News 09:00

BULLETIN 20 April 9 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The High Court will today hear Matshela Koko’s application over a punitive reparations agreement
# Joburg’s N12 is reopened following a deadly gas tanker fire
# And, the US Navy intercepted and seized an Iranian ship

# The Johannesburg High Court will today hear former Eskom CEO Matshela Koko’s application challenging a 2.5-billion-rand punitive reparations agreement between the NPA and Swedish-Swiss technology company Asea Brown Boveri. The company admitted to paying bribes to a high-ranking official at Eskom to attain a Kusile Power Station contract. A settlement was reached in 2022. Koko argues that ABB should not have been granted immunity from prosecution, and that bribery allegations are directly linked to him and the NPA’s previous attempts to prosecute him for corruption in a 2.2-billion-rand tender.

# The Activists and Citizens Forum says the explosive allegations made by suspended Mpumalanga Police Commissioner Daphney Manamela must not be taken lightly. Among the several allegations she made, Manamela accused National Police Commissioner, Fannie Masemola of bribery, protecting corrupt officers, and orchestrating her removal to silence her crackdown on crime within the ranks. She also implicated former minister Bheki Cele. The forum’s Dennis Bloem says the allegations are more proof that the police service needs a total overhaul:

# The Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department says the N12 near the Comaro Road off-ramp has been reopened to traffic. This comes after a gas tanker was stationary westbound when a light motor vehicle collided with the rear of the tanker, triggering a fire yesterday. The driver of the light motor vehicle died on the scene. JMPD spokesperson, Xolani Fihla, says the decanting of the remaining gas from the damaged tanker into a secondary tanker and mopping operations took several hours:

# President Donald Trump says the US Navy fired on and seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship that tried to bypass its blockade in the Gulf of Oman. This comes as he said on Friday that the naval blockade of Iranian ports would continue until the two countries agreed on a deal. In a post on Truth Social, Trump says the Iranian-flagged cargo ship TOUSKA was given a fair warning to stop, which was ignored. Iran’s Foreign Ministry says the US blockade is a violation of the ceasefire agreement and is unlawful and criminal.

# Soccer: Manchester City have moved within three points of Premier League leaders Arsenal with a game in hand, after beating the Gunners 2-1 at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday evening. Rayan Cherki gave City the lead, but Arsenal equalised seconds later through Kai Havertz. Erling Haaland’s second-half goal proved decisive. City will have the chance to overtake the Gunners by beating second-to-last Burnley on Wednesday. Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta says his players must reset now with five games to go:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-37-cents and the euro at 19-rand-25-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-11-cents, and Bitcoin trades at 74-thousand-524-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-793-dollars-5-cents a fine ounce, and Brent crude oil is quoted at 91-dollars-48-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….