News 13:00
BULLETIN 18 March 1 pm
Good afternoon. I am……..
In this bulletin:
# The case against the fourth accused in Joslin Smith’s disappearance is postponed
# The African Amalgamated Restorative Movement says the IEC is not able to run smooth elections
# And tennis: Novak Djokovic withdraws from the Miami Open to balance private and professional schedules
# The Vredenburg Magistrate’s Court in the Western Cape has postponed the case against accused number four in the disappearance of Joslin Smith to next Monday. Thirty-two-year-old Lourencia “Renz” Lombaard appeared in court today, charged with trafficking in-person and human trafficking. She was arrested over the weekend and the state says she made a confession. The six-year-old Grade 1 learner went missing from her house in the Middelpos informal settlement four weeks ago today. Her mother, Kelly Smith, and two men will return to court on 13 May.
# The African Amalgamated Restorative Movement’s leader, Bishop Marothi Mashashane, says the Electoral Commission is in the serious situation that it’s not able to deliver or conduct smooth, credible and fair elections with integrity. He says the leak of the candidates list of the uMkhonto we Sizwe Party and the ANC has already compromised the integrity of the commission, but the IEC is failing to deal with such parties accordingly. Mashashane says the atmosphere leading to the election date is becoming more and more threatening for voters:
# A volcano in Iceland’s Reykjanes Peninsula has erupted for the fourth time since December, leading to a state of emergency being declared. Evacuations have been enforced in the town of Grindavik, while there are concerns for the Svartsengi power plant, which supplies electricity and water to around 30-thousand people on the peninsula. The Icelandic Meteorological Office says lava flows are now slow and steady. Iceland is home to 33 active volcano systems, the highest number in Europe.
# Tennis: Six-time Miami Open champion Novak Djokovic has withdrawn from the tournament, citing the balance between his private and professional schedule. Djokovic’s announcement on his social media accounts follows his 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 defeat to Italy’s unheralded Luca Nardi in the third round of Indian Wells a week ago. Nardi, who is ranked number 123, became the lowest-ranked player to beat Djokovic in a Grand Slam or ATP Masters one-thousand level event, surpassing number 122 South African Kevin Anderson in 2008 in Miami.
# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-81-cents and the euro at 20-rand-50-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-98-cents and Bitcoin trades at 68-thousand-59-dollars-88-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-155-dollars-20-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 86-dollars-13-cents a barrel.
# And finally: The University of the Witwatersrand says it is committed to playing a transformative leadership role in a just and equitable transition to a net zero-carbon economy. New solar benches have been added to the outdoor furniture at the Braamfontein campuses. The university’s Chris Ziyambi says these innovative benches, equipped with solar panels, are part of the initiative to transform into a greener institution:
Stay tuned for more news………….