News 09:00

BULLETIN 9 April 9 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The FF Plus says the culture of violence is steering the country down a dangerous path to anarchy and chaos
# The DA says the continued killings expose policing failures in the Western Cape
# And, Hezbollah launches retaliatory strikes against Israel

# The Freedom Front Plus says the culture of violence in South Africa is not only derailing the country, but also steering it towards anarchy and utter chaos. This follows the recent murder of Reverend Danie Oosthuizen, a retired Dutch Reformed minister from Primrose East in Germiston, Gauteng. FF Plus Jaco Mulder says there needs to be a deliberate restoration of the country’s moral compass while promoting a culture of respect, responsibility and tolerance towards one another:

# The South African Social Security Agency has welcomed the Constitutional Court’s ruling against Cash Paymaster Services. The apex court has ordered CPS to pay 81.3-million-rand to Sassa. This relates to the nationwide payment tender awarded to CPS by Sassa, which was formally declared unlawful by the Constitutional Court in 2014. However, to ensure continuity of grant payments, the court allowed CPS to continue operating. Sassa spokesperson, Paseka Letsatsi, says the case was about whether CPS should repay profits earned under the invalid contract:

# The DA in the Western Cape has condemned ongoing gang violence in Mitchells Plain, where four people were killed and three others injured in separate shootings. The party says 36 people were murdered and 47 wounded in gang-related incidents between 30 March and 5 April. The DA’s Benedicta van Minnen has criticised the police for failing to stop the violence, despite support from the South African National Defence Force:

# Iran-backed militia, Hezbollah, says it has fired rockets at northern Israel in response to Israeli ceasefire violations, putting the two-week US-Iran agreement at risk. The Israeli Defence Force launched its biggest attack on Lebanon in this war on Wednesday, killing at least 182 people. The US and Israeli prime minister Bejamin Netanyahu have maintained that the ceasefire does not include operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon. However, Iran has insisted that Lebanon is part of the ceasefire deal. Hezbollah says attacks will continue until “Israeli-American aggression” against Lebanon stops.

# Soccer: Defending champions Paris Saint-Germain defeated Liverpool 2-0 at the Parc des Princes to secure a first-leg advantage in their Champions League quarterfinal. Goals from Désiré Doué and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia secured the win for Luis Enrique’s side, handing Liverpool their fourth consecutive away defeat for the first time since April 2012. Meanwhile, goals from Julian Alvarez and Alexander Sorloth saw Atletico Madrid stun 10-man Barcelona 2-0 at the Camp Nou in their quarterfinal first-leg. Atletico have eliminated Barcelona in both of their previous Champions League knockout ties.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-42-cents and the euro at 19-rand-16-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand, and Bitcoin trades at 70-thousand-962-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-720-dollars-90-cents a fine ounce, and Brent crude oil is quoted at 94-dollars-52-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….