News 14:00

BULLETIN 12 April 2 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The EFF’s secretary-general has been convicted for attacking a policeman at Parliament
# The appointment of more permanent officials will strengthen security at correctional facilities
# And, rugby: English and French teams dominate the Champions Cup quarterfinal

# EFF secretary-general, Marshall Dlamini, has been convicted of assault and malicious damage to property for his involvement in an altercation with a policeman at Parliament. News24 reports the Cape Town Regional Court found him guilty of assaulting Johan Carstens during a scuffle following the state of the nation address in February 2019. He struck Carstens in the face, breaking his glasses. Dlamini’s claim of protecting party leader Julius Malema from an alleged assassination threat was dismissed by magistrate Nasha Banwari. Sentencing is scheduled for 31 May.

# The national commissioner of Correctional Services, Makgothi Thobakgale, has approved the appointment of one-thousand-and-three students as permanent correctional officials as of this new financial year. This comes after they were enlisted in the 12-month Correctional Services Learnership programme. The department’s spokesperson, Logan Maistry, says these appointments will go a long way to strengthen security in correctional centres and ensure more boots on the ground:

# AfriForum has informed SANRAL of safety risks on the bridge near the Huguenot Tunnel in the Boland. This follows incidents where inclement weather caused a trailer and a caravan to be blown off the 45-meter bridge. AfriForum’s Deon de Jager emphasises the need for collaborative action, and proposes short and long-term solutions, including advanced wind speed measurement technology and raised barriers on high-lying bridges:

# China has urged the United States to play a constructive role in the Middle East after its top diplomat, Wang Yi, spoke with his US counterpart Antony Blinken over the phone. China says it will continue to play a constructive role in the resolution of the Middle East issue and contribute to cooling down the situation. A Foreign ministry spokesperson told the Chinese media the United States in particular should play a constructive role.

# Rugby: There are four English teams in the quarterfinals of the Champions Cup this weekend, as well as three French teams and one each from Ireland and South Africa. Bordeaux will host Harlequins, Leinster will welcome La Rochelle, Exeter Chiefs will be in France to face Toulouse and the Bulls are in England to take on Northampton Saints. Bulls’ director of rugby Jake White says it’s a tough task ahead for his team:

# And, the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-75-cents and the euro at 19-rand-99-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-43-cents and Bitcoin trades at 70-thousand-623-dollars-3-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-397-dollars-57-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 90-dollars-62-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….