News 12:00

BULLETIN 14 March 12 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Patricia de Lille is the GOOD party’s candidate for Western Cape premier 
# The SA Heritage Resources Agency maintains Madiba’s items deserve special protection 
# And rugby: Eddie Jones is eyeing a new style of play for Japan

# The GOOD Party has picked leader Patricia de Lille as its Western Cape premier candidate. The party’s spokesperson, Janke Tolmay, says Aunty Pat as she is fondly known, offers voters a tried and tested leader with unmatched experience that is necessary to attend to the challenges of the province. She says with De Lille, voters can rest assured she will not stop fighting until the work is done:

# The South African Heritage Resources Agency is pursuing an appeal regarding the classification of items linked to former president Nelson Mandela, which his daughter seeks to auction. Despite a ruling by the Gauteng High Court dismissing an interdict on the 29 items, SAHRA argues they are heritage objects. Advocates presented contrasting views on the interpretation of the Heritage Act during a hearing. Judgment has been reserved.

# The magistrate who presided over the corruption case against former Eskom group CEO Matshela Koko and seven co-accused, allegedly failed to disclose his business dealings with the power utility. The case was struck off the roll last year. According to News24, acting magistrate Stanley Jacobs is a director and shareholder of BEP African Consulting. The company was allegedly paid 14.3-million-rand by Eskom during the time Koko and co-accused Frans Sithole held senior positions at the utility. Jacobs says there was no reason to disclose anything, as the company was dormant.

# Rugby: Japan’s head coach, Eddie Jones, says he wants to create a new style of play that is adventurous and attacking. The 64-year-old is coaching the Brave Blossoms for the second time, after parting ways with Australia last year when the Wallabies failed to make the World Cup knockout stages for the first time in history. Jones’s first game in charge is in June against England, a team he coached from 2015 to 2022. He says he wants to bring on new Japanese talent:

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-62-cents and the euro at 20-rand-37-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-85-cents and Bitcoin trades at 73-thousand-531-dollars-35-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-169-dollars-66-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 84-dollars-25-cents a barrel.

# And finally: A British guide dog training charity has appealed to people with distinctive facial characteristics to help young dogs get used to certain features. This follows after research found almost two-thirds of dogs reacted with fear or confusion to attributes they have not been exposed to before. Sky News reports the charity asks volunteers with beards, moustaches, brightly coloured Mohawks, facial piercings and tattoos to come forward. They also want people to help expose puppies to aspects of daily life, like babies and bikes.

Stay tuned for more news………….