News 16:00

BULLETIN 18 March 4 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Government refutes claims of a misconduct crisis at the Antarctica base
# The DA calls for the Treasury’s intervention in the City Power scandal
# And rugby: Friedle Olivier is leaving the Cheetahs to join a Japanese club

# The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment has denied claims of a misconduct crisis at South Africa’s Sanae Four research base in Antarctica. This follows reports of an alleged assault between two team members, but the department confirmed no one was sent back to Cape Town and all evaluations showed no major concerns. Minister Dion George also clarified that claims of sexual assault are false, but an investigation into harassment is ongoing:

# The DA has urged the National Treasury and the Auditor General to investigate alleged financial mismanagement at Johannesburg’s power supplier, City Power. A News24 report indicates that City Power fraudulently spent 335-million-rand on failed maintenance and infrastructure projects in six months, paying deceptive invoices. The DA’s caucus leader in the city, Belinda Kayser-Echeozonjoku, says City Power has ignored their Promotion of Access to Information Act requests:

# The GOOD Party has called on president Cyril Ramaphosa to accelerate the National Cannabis Masterplan and halt the edibles ban. The party argues that policy uncertainty threatens nearly a million livelihoods, leaving traditional growers excluded while a few licensed businesses benefit. GOOD’s Brett Herron says banning cannabis edibles won’t ensure safety, and urges regulation instead. He warns that inconsistent policies are stifling the industry’s growth:

# Hamas named the head of its government in the Gaza Strip, Essam al-Dalis, among a list of officials it said were killed in a wave of Israeli strikes on the Palestinian territory. In a statement Hamas also announced the deaths of interior ministry head Mahmud Abu Watfa, director-general of the internal security service, Bahjat Abu Sultan, and their families. Israel vowed to continue fighting in Gaza until the return of all hostages as it unleashed its most intense strikes since a ceasefire come into effect in January.

# Rugby: Cheetahs forward Friedle Olivier is leaving to join a Japanese club, which has not been revealed yet. The 32-year-old, who joined the Cheetahs in 2022 from a Russian club, has played 41 games for the Bloemfontein side. Olivier last played against Lyon in the Challenge Cup in January, as he suffered a calf injury. The Cheetahs remain unbeaten in the SA Cup and are preparing to face the Pumas in Mbombela on Friday.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-7-cents and the euro at 19-rand-72-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-42-cents and Bitcoin trades at 82-thousand-74-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-and-28-dollars-63-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 71-dollars-67-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….