News 15:00

BULLETIN 15 April 3 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# A manhunt is launched for kidnappers after two businessmen were rescued in Midrand, Gauteng
# AfriForum says Gauteng residents are unfairly blamed for the water crisis caused by municipal neglect
# And tennis: Iga Swiatek aims for a third Stuttgart Open title

# A manhunt has been launched for a group of suspects who hijacked and kidnapped two businessmen in Midrand,  Gauteng, yesterday. The victims were hijacked on a car rental premises and taken to bushes along the R21, where they were forced to hand over their bank cards and PINs. Police spokesperson Athlenda Mathe says their stolen Range Rover was later found in Tembisa:

# AfriForum says Gauteng residents are unfairly blamed for high water use, while the real problems are leaks and poor maintenance by municipalities. The organisation adds Johannesburg, Tshwane, and Ekurhuleni didn’t respond to its requests for information about water waste. This follows a warning from Water and Sanitation minister, Pemmy Majodina, about stricter restrictions if water use doesn’t drop. AfriForum’s Marais de Vaal has threatened legal action if municipalities continue to ignore the crisis:

# Transport minister Barbara Creecy has launched a new ship-to-shore crane at the Port of Gqeberha container terminal in the Eastern Cape. This forms part of a three-billion-rand fleet renewal investment. The crane is expected to improve equipment availability, boost efficiency, and enhance South Africa’s global competitiveness. Its speed and precision will reduce ship docking times, increasing port throughput. Creecy also highlighted the crane’s environmental benefits, including reduced emissions:

# Tennis: Two-time champion Iga Swiatek is chasing a hat-trick of titles and also her first of the season at the Stuttgart Open in Germany this week, as she begins her clay court season. The Pole has played exactly 100 matches on clay in her career and won 89 of them. Defending champion Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan has opted to skip the tournament. Other favourites to lift the trophy are world number one, Aryna Sabalenka from Belarus, and in-form Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-87-cents and the euro at 21-rand-38-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-96-cents and Bitcoin trades at 85-thousand-478-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-220-dollars-17-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 64-dollars-21-cents a barrel.

# And finally: FNB’s new online toll payment solution has reduced toll road fraud by over 90-percent. The bank’s product and solutions head, Netsai Ngidi, told Engineering News the system uses chip card technology for real-time, secure payments, eliminating swipe fraud risks. Ngidi emphasises that traditional methods were prone to abuse and cloning, highlighting the tech’s ability to security. She says FNB plans a nationwide rollout this year benefitting motorists, toll operators, and financial institutions.

Stay tuned for more news………….