News 14:00

BULLETIN 30 April 2 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Minister Solly Malatsi requests time to appear in Parliament to account on the draft national A-I policy
# Golf: Several LIV players have reportedly reached out to the PGA Tour about a possible return
# And South Africa records a 16-percent decrease in teenage pregnancies nationwide

# Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies Solly Malatsi requested time to complete an internal investigation after Parliament’s Communications Committee called him to account following the withdrawal of the draft National Artificial Intelligence Policy. Malatsi withdrew the document after it was revealed the framework had A-I-generated fictitious sources in the 67 references cited in the policy. Malatsi has assured the committee consequence management will be implemented against officials found to have failed in their duties.

# Gauteng police opened cases of malicious property damage and attempted murder after three trucks were set alight on the N3 highway near Vosloorus. Police spokesperson Noxolo Kweza says the suspects allegedly blocked the road and opened fire during an attempted hijacking. The drivers escaped unharmed. Kweza condemns the attack, saying lawlessness will not be tolerated. She appeals for information to assist investigations and possible arrests:

# The Western Cape Premier’s Coordinating Forum says the province is continuing to make steady progress in controlling the foot-and-mouth disease. No new cases have been recorded in the province in the past 39 days, indicating that the outbreak has stabilised. A total of 164-thousand-425 vaccine doses have so far been administered at 756 sites across the province. Premier Alan Winde says vaccination remains critical to the province’s disease control strategy:

# Golf: Several LIV Golf players have reportedly reached out to the PGA Tour to discuss a potential return. This comes as Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund will reportedly no longer fund LIV after this season. Major winners Jon Rahm from Spain, Americans Bryson DeChambeau and Phil Mickelson, and Australian Cameron Smith are among the players who compete on the tour. Golf Digest reports a path back to the PGA Tour will exist, though the conditions are expected to be considerably more restrictive than those granted to American Brooks Koepka.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-77-cents and the euro at 19-rand-61-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-63-cents and Bitcoin trades at 76-thousand-12-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-628-dollars-85-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 109-dollars-31-cents a barrel.

# And finally: Teen pregnancies in South Africa dropped by 16-percent between 2021 and 2025, according to research published in the South African Medical Journal. The study shows year-on-year declines across all provinces, with births among girls aged 10 to 14 falling by nearly 40-percent. Health researcher Peter Barron says despite the improvement, rates remain high, with about 115-thousand adolescents still giving birth annually. He highlights education, access to contraception, and post-Covid-19 social changes as possible factors behind the decline.

Stay tuned for more news………….