News 13:00

BULLETIN 23 April 1 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Ramaphosa will address South Africans this afternoon amid turmoil in the Police Service
# Julius Mkhwanazi denies the fraud and corruption charges against him
# And soccer: Mexico assures World Cup visitors will be safe after deadly shootings

# President Cyril Ramaphosa wil address the nation at 4 pm this afternoon amid the ongoing turmoil within the South African Police Service. He will be accompanied by acting Police minister Firoz Cachalia. More in our next bulletin. 

# Suspended Ekurhuleni Metro Police deputy chief Julius Mkhwanazi has denied charges of fraud, corruption and defeating the ends of justice in the Boksburg Magistrate’s Court in Gauteng. He and his co-accused, Ekurhuleni city manager Kagiso Lerutla, allegedly orchestrated a scheme in 2019 to evade court proceedings using false representation, sharing 400-thousand-rand. Mkhwanazi’s lawyer, Peter Wilkins, said during the bail application detention should not serve as punishment before trial:

# Union federation Cosatu has welcomed Eskom’s positive winter outlook, where it projects no loadshedding for the season. The power utility says it has moved beyond short‑term recovery into a phase of stability and sustained energy security, ensuring that homes, businesses and industries remain powered through the peak winter months. Cosatu’s Matthew Parks says this is an achievement that Eskom and its employees must be congratulated for:

# South African airfares have surged as jet fuel prices increased following the Middle Eastern conflict. FlySafair says fuel costs rose by up to 70-percent in a week, making up over half of flight expenses. This has led to the airline introducing a temporary surcharge. A return trip between Johannesburg and Cape Town now exceeds four-thousand-rand, nearly double recent prices. The airline says some routes added over 800-rand per ticket, significantly increasing travel costs.

Meanwhile, US president Donald Trump says there is no deadline for ending the war with Iran and its naval blockade of Iranian ports. Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian said Tehran remains open to discussions, but added the US’ breach of commitments, blockades and threats are the main obstacles to genuine negotiations. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt says the extension of the ceasefire was also open-ended, and there is no new deadline:

# Soccer: Co-host Mexico gave the assurance World Cup visitors will be safe following a shooting at the historic Teotihuacan Pyramids which claimed the life of a Canadian woman. Thirteen people were injured when the attacker, reportedly being influenced  by violent incidents abroad, opened fire before killing himself. Authorities tightened safety measures at tourist sites afterwards. President Claudia Sheinbaum guaranteed visitors’ safety during the tournament, with the first local match in Mexico City on 11 June.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-55-cents against the rand and the euro at 19-rand-36-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-35-cents and Bitcoin trades at 77-thousand-653-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-700-dollars-61-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 98-dollars-58-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….