News 08:00

BULLETIN 27 March 8 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Fikile Mbalula says nobody can steal something belonging to the ANC
# The EFF supports the DA’s no-confidence motion against Mapisa-Nqakula
# And the judge gags Trump before his upcoming hush money trial

# ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula says no one will take what belongs to the ruling party and think they can get away with it. This comes as the matter regarding uMkhonto weSizwe Party’s alleged infringement of the trademark of the ANC’s disbanded paramilitary wing, Umkhonto weSizwe, will be heard in court today. Mbalula says it is a matter of clear public interest that any voter confusion, caused by the unauthorised use of the ANC’s intellectual property, is clarified before the 29 May elections:

# The EFF says it supports the DA’s no-confidence motion against National Assembly speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula. She is accused of soliciting bribes worth over two-million-rand during her tenure as Defence minister. National Assembly deputy speaker Lechesa Tsenoli has provisionally granted the DA’s request for Parliament to the motion. The EFF says it is paramount that Mapisa-Nqakula be replaced as speaker to maintain the integrity of Parliament, and that she be held accountable.

# Tshwane mayor Cilliers Brink says the metro has a zero-tolerance approach to lawlessness, especially drinking and driving. He launched the metro’s Easter road safety operations along with the national police at the N1 Carousel Toll Plaza yesterday. According to the Road Traffic Management Corporation, last year 252 people lost their lives on the country’s roads during the Easter period. Brink says road fatalities during the Easter weekend are preventable:

# A New York judge has imposed a gag order on former president Donald Trump in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial. This means he cannot make statements about potential witnesses, prosecutors, court staff, and jurors. The order also bars him from making or directing others to make public statements about people involved in the trial. Trump is charged with falsifying business records related to reimbursements for a payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels in the days before the 2016 presidential election. The trial begins on the 15th of next month.

# Tennis: Top seed Carlos Alcaraz is through to the Miami Open quarterfinals for the third consecutive year. The Spaniard defeated Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti, 6-3 6-3. Defending champion Russia’s Daniil Medvedev beat Germany’s Dominik Koepfer, 7-6, 6-0, while second-seeded Italian Jannik Sinner also progressed with a straight-sets victory. In the women’s draw, three-time champion Victoria Azarenka defeated Russia’s Yulia Putintseva, 7-6, 1-6, 6-3, to make the semifinals. The Belarusian says it was a tough match:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-98-cents and the euro at 20-rand-55-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-95-cents and Bitcoin trades at 70-thousand-534-dollars-6-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-179-dollars-9-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 84-dollars-90-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….