News 14:00

BULLETIN 2 April 2 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Taxi associations remain undecided about commuter fare increases
# The sole survivor of the Limpopo bus crash is expected to be discharged from hospital
# And cricket: Mumbai fans blame new captain Hardik Pandya for the bad run in the IPL 

# Taxi associations remain undecided on whether to increase commuter fares amid a fuel price hike. The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy announced increases of 65-cents per litre for 93 unleaded petrol, and 67-cents for 95 unleaded. The National Taxi Alliance says while they are aware of the hike, there hasn’t been industry-wide engagement on fare adjustments. Meanwhile Santaco’s Rebecca Pala advised that fare hikes should not be outrageous if implemented:

# Limpopo Health MEC Phophi Ramathuba has expressed confidence in the imminent discharge of the sole survivor of the weekend’s deadly bus crash. Eight-year-old Lorraine Atlang Siako was admitted to the Mokopane Hospital after the accident near Mmamatlakala. She sustained memory loss and possible psychological trauma. The bus was transporting members of the Zion Christian Church to Moria for an Easter Pilgrimage. Ramathuba affirmed that once medically cleared, Lorraine will be handed over to Botswana’s Department of Health, emphasising continued support for her recovery.

# Free State farmers are urging government to declare the ongoing drought a disaster, to seek relief and mitigate losses during the dry season. The farming community emphasises the threat to food security due to the severe impact of the drought. With soaring commodity prices, farmers fear further price hikes if the drought persists. Zimasa Leputla of the Department of Agricultural in the province confirmed that an assessment of the situation is underway:

# Cricket: Fans blame Mumbai Indians’ new captain, Hardik Pandya, for their bad run in this year’s Indian Premier League. The team is at the bottom of the log after losing all three matches so far. Pandya replaced hugely popular Indian captain Rohit Sharma as captain of Mumbai after returning from Gujarat Titans. Sharma led Mumbai to all five of its IPL titles. The team’s next match is on Sunday against Delhi Capitals, who are in seventh place after losing two of their three games.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-81-cents and the euro at 20-rand-20-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-63-cents and Bitcoin trades at 65-thousand-845-dollars-59-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-264-dollars-49-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 88-dollars-90-cents a barrel.

# And finally: Researchers from the University of Pretoria and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research are collaborating on a project to detect fake news online during elections. South Africans head to the polls on the 29th of May. The project involves using artificial intelligence to analyse patterns and identify fake news and also focuses on continuous learning to adapt to evolving disinformation tactics. The university’s professor Vukosi Marivate says the effects of disinformation and fake news during elections pose significant threats to social cohesion and trust.

Stay tuned for more news………….