News 14:00

BULLETIN 24 April 2 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The state seeks jail time for Robert Mugabe’s son and his co-accused
# The pope condemns the killings in Iran and the lack of progress in peace talks with America
# And soccer: Minister McKenzie says the wait for VAR is finally reaching its endgame

# The state has requested prison sentences for former Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe’s son, Bellarmine, and his co-accused, Tobias Matonhodze, in the Alexandra Regional Court in Gauteng for shooting their employee in their Hyde Park home in Johannesburg. The state is seeking 12-months each for the pointing of a firearm and the immigration charge against Mugabe. It wants Matonhodze to serve five-years for attempted murder and various sentences for other crimes. The case was postponed to Wednesday for sentencing proceedings.

# The United Democratic Movement has accused president Cyril Ramaphosa of indecisive leadership following allegations of corruption within the Police Service. He suspended national commissioner Fannie Masemola yesterday. UDM chief whip Thandiwe Nontenja told SABC News despite suspensions, no arrests or convictions have followed. She questioned delays linked to commissions of inquiry, warning it reflects a pattern of inaction. Nontenja raised concerns about accountability, saying South Africans are losing confidence in police:

Moving abroad:

# Zimbabwe and Botswana have agreed to introduce passport-free travel, allowing citizens to cross borders between the two countries using only national identity documents. Zimbabwe’s president Emmerson Mnangagwa said the phased plan will begin with border communities and short-term visits, aiming to ease movement of people, goods, and services. Botswana’s president Duma Boko says the initiative supports regional integration and calls for African unity amid vast resources and youthful population:

# Pope Leo condemned the violence in Iran and the killing of innocent civilians. He was speaking aboard the papal flight back to Rome after an 11-day trip to Africa. The pope says as a shepherd he could not be in favour of war. He says whether there is regime change or not, the question is how to promote the values in which people believe without the death of so many innocents. He also expressed regret over the lack of progress in peace talks between the United States and Iran.

# Soccer: Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture, Gayton McKenzie, says governing body SAFA is on the verge of announcing the chosen supplier for Video Assistant Referee technology. The initial setup of VAR is estimated to cost between 70- and 80-million-rand as a one-off expense, with a recurring operational cost of approximately 70-thousand-rand per match thereafter. McKenzie says there are no financial grounds for further delays in the introduction of VAR:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-64-cents against the rand and the euro at 19-rand-45-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-44-cents and Bitcoin trades at 77-thousand-623-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-680-dollars-95-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 101-dollars-14-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….