News 16:00

BULLETIN 11 March 4 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# A former banking executive is due in a Cape Town court over his wife’s murder
# A Mpumalanga police woman appears in court for the murder of her husband and lady friend
# And cricket: Michael Bracewell captains New Zealand in the T20s against Pakistan

# A former banking executive is due in a Cape Town court today in connection with the death of his wife in 2021. He was arrested at his home in Somerset-West. The woman’s death was initially believed to be suicide, but investigations revealed she was murdered. The 54-year-old, who was a manager at Absa, is accused of strangling his wife and tampering with the crime scene to make it look like suicide. He faces charges of premeditated murder and defeating the ends of justice.

# A female police Sergeant will apply for bail in the Bushbuckridge Magistrate’s Court in Mpumalanga tomorrow following her arrest for the murder of her husband and his lady friend. Nyiko Nyathi was arrested at the local police station where she works yesterday after surrendering. Her husband, Lawrence Mashego, was kidnapped in February last year and later killed, while Victoria Lebyane was robbed and fatally shot. Spokesperson Donald Mdhluli says a total of four people were arrested:

# The City of Cape Town says taking illegal, stolen and unregistered firearms, real or fake, off the streets makes communities safer. The metro’s enforcement agencies arrested 323 people this past week for several offences. Mayoral committee member for Safety and Security, JP Smith, says each weapon confiscated reduces gun violence, decreasing the risk of murder and attempted murder, accidental shootings, and overall crime rate:

# The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition has launched the Business Visa Recommendation System, an online platform to streamline business visa applications. The VRS allows applicants to submit, monitor, and receive updates on applications for first-time, extension, or permanent residence visas. Acting deputy director-general, Yunus Hoosen, highlights faster processing, convenience, and transparency as key benefits. He emphasises this initiative aligns with South Africa’s e-governance efforts and aims to simplify doing business in the country.

# Cricket: Michael Bracewell will captain New Zealand at home for the first time in a five-match T20 series against Pakistan. The squad is missing several key players that will do duty in the Indian Premier League, including captain Mitchell Santner, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson and Glenn Phillips. Bracewell was one of the Black Caps’ best players in the recent Champions Trophy, where they lost to India in the final. Another six players from the team were included for the T20s, starting in Christchurch on Sunday.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-25-cents and the euro at 19-rand-91-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-60-cents and Bitcoin trades at 81-thousand-571-dollars. Gold sells at two-thousand-911-dollars-23-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 69-dollars-85-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….