News 06:00

BULLETIN 25 March 6 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula’s interdict against her arrest will be heard today
# The South African Institute of Chartered Accountants will close its case against Markus Jooste
# And cycling: South Africa’s Matt Beers and American Howard Grotts win the Cape Epic

# National Assembly speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula’s application to interdict her arrest will be heard in the Pretoria High Court today. She is accused of accepting bribes worth millions from a military contractor while she was Defence and Military Veterans minister. In her interdict application, Mapisa-Nqakula demands the full disclosure of the case against her including the charges, notes from the investigators, and the complete investigation file. The National Prosecuting Authority’s Investigating Directorate will oppose the application, saying it is baseless and has no merit.

# The South African Institute of Chartered Accountants says it will recommend to the professional conduct committee for the disciplinary process against Markus Jooste to be closed. The former embattled Steinhoff CEO died by suicide last week. He was recently fined 475-million-rand by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority for publishing false financial statements. The institute’s CEO, Patricia Stock, says because of Jooste’s death, they now cannot hold him accountable:

Meanwhile, judgement in the bail application of former Steinhoff executive and lawyer, Stéhan Grobler, will be handed down in the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crimes Court today. He handed himself over to police last week Friday, a day after Jooste’s suicide. Grobler is facing charges of fraud and racketeering, which he has denied. His legal representative, advocate Francois Roets, argued bail should be set at 50-thousand-rand. The state has opposed bail, but in case bail is awarded, it wants it set at 200-thousand-rand.

# Gauteng police arrested six heavily armed suspects who were allegedly en route to commit a robbery in Sandton, Johannesburg, yesterday. Officers intercepted a bakkie marked with a courier company’s logo and a private Toyota bakkie with the six armed suspects. Police spokesperson, Mavela Masondo, says the suspects have been charged with possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition as well as conspiracy to commit robbery:

# The US National Security Council says it warned Russia of a potential attack by the Islamic State group on large gatherings earlier this month. At least 137 people, including three children, were killed in an attack last week Friday evening at a concert venue in Moscow. The Islamic State, also known as ISIS, has claimed responsibility for the attack. The Kremlin at the time dismissed the warning as propaganda. Meanwhile, the White House has rejected claims from Russian president Vladimir Putin that Ukraine was involved in the attack.

# Cycling: South Africa’s Matt Beers and his American partner Howard Grotts won the 2024 edition of the Cape Epic. The pair of the Toyota-Specialised NinetyOne team finished third in stage seven, dubbed the Grand Finale in Stellenbosch, and well within the time required for the overall victory. This is the third title for Beers and a second for Grotts, as they beat the World Bicycle Relief team of Nino Schurter and Sebastian Fini in the general classification. Anne Terpstra of the Netherlands and Switzerland’s Nicole Koller won the women’s category.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-93-cents and the euro at 20-rand-48-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-88-cents and Bitcoin trades at 66-thousand-597-dollar-50-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-175-dollars-one-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 85-dollars-87-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….