News 15:00

BULLETIN 13 April 3 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Police Sergeant Fannie Nkosi denies charges in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court
# Tennis: The ATP rankings show significant changes after the Monte-Carlo Masters
# And the UN says the military escalation in the Middle East could push more than 32-million people into poverty

# Gauteng organised crime sergeant Fannie Nkosi has denied multiple charges against him during his appearance at the Pretoria North Magistrate’s Court. He faces charges including theft, possession of unlicensed ammunition and grenades, and defeating the ends of justice. Nkosi’s lawyer, Thulani Mngomezulu, told the court his client will plead not guilty and argued for bail, maintaining the charges are fabricated and he is not a flight risk:

# A Madlanga commission witness, North West businessman and ANC regional treasurer Suliman Carrim, has been rushed to Netcare Milpark Hospital in Johannesburg after suffering a suspected heart attack while exercising at a gym. His condition remains unconfirmed. Carrim was due to return to the commission on Thursday to testify on corruption allegations involving businessman Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala and a 360-million-rand police contract. His testimony included a 12-million-rand investment into Medicare24, linked to Matlala, and kickbacks and improper relationships.

# The Cape Independence Advocacy Group welcomes the election of Geordin Hill-Lewis as federal leader of the DA, saying it signals an opportunity to advance debates on greater provincial autonomy. The group’s Phil Craig says repeated attempts to secure meaningful devolution from national government failed, despite constitutional provisions supporting self-determination. He says they will continue engaging stakeholders and strengthening regional powers within South Africa’s constitutional framework to better serve Western Cape residents:

# Tennis: The latest men’s world rankings show significant changes after the Monte-Carlo Masters. Italian Jannik Sinner replaced Carlos Alcaraz at the ATP summit after beating the Spaniard in the final. Germany’s Alexander Zverev stays third after losing to Sinner in the semifinal, followed by Serbian Novak Djokovic. Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime moved up two positions, and American Ben Shelton also improved two places to sixth. Australian Alex de Minaur is now seventh, followed by American Taylor Fritz and Italian Lorenzo Musetti, while Russian Daniil Medvedev rounds up the top-ten.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-52-cents and the euro at 19-rand-33-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-20-cents and Bitcoin trades at 70-thousand-887-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-722-dollars-33-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 98-dollars-51-cents a barrel.

# And finally: More than 32-million people worldwide could be plunged into poverty by the economic fallout from the Middle Eastern war. This is according to a report by the United Nations’ Development Programme, which states the world was facing a triple shock: energy, food and weaker economic growth. The programme says while rich countries were in a stronger position to cushion the economic fallout from the war, nations in the global south had a weaker starting position and already had severe financial constraints.

Stay tuned for more news………….