News 16:00

BULLETIN 11 March 4 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The defence lawyer disputes claims that Mugabe’s son and his co-accused are in South Africa illegally
# AfriForum questions police’s latest stock theft statistics
# And soccer: Infantino says Trump gave the assurance Iran’s team would be welcome for the World Cup

# Attorney Sinenhlanhla Mnguni says claims that former Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe’s son, Bellarmine, and his co-accused, Tobias Matondze, are in South Africa illegally remain unproven. The pair, accused of shooting a gardener at their residence in Hyde Park last month, abandoned their bail application in the Alexandra Magistrate’s Court in Gauteng. Mnguni told the media outside court the state’s allegation has not yet been proven in court:

# AfriForum has raised concerns about the police’s October and December 2025 stock theft statistics, saying they present a distorted picture of the problem. While police reported a 9.6-percent decrease, AfriForum says cases actually rose slightly between the second and third quarters. AfriForum’s Hennie Bekker warns under-reporting, lack of resources and alleged corruption in Stock Theft Units are worsening the crisis. He calls for stronger units and improved anti-corruption measures:

# Rangers on patrol in the Kingfisherspruit section of the Kruger National Park in Mpumalanga confronted three poachers. One armed suspect was arrested while the other two escaped. SANParks’ JP Louw says a doctor treated the injured poacher on site before he was taken to a local hospital. He says police and the local criminal investigations centre recovered a heavy-calibre rifle from the scene.

# Eskom has hailed the strong performance of Unit 2 at the Koeberg nuclear power station in Cape Town, after the reactor achieved 365 days of uninterrupted operation. Eskom’s generation executive, Bheki Nxumalo, says the upgraded unit has delivered about 946-megawatts to the national grid with a 99.4-percent energy availability factor. He says the milestone follows major upgrades, including new steam generators installed to improve reliability and long-term energy security.

# Soccer: World governing body FIFA’s president, Gianni Infantino, says US president Donald Trump has assured him Iran’s team would be welcome in the country during the World Cup, co-hosted with Canada and Mexico. Iran wasn’t present during last week’s planning session for the tournament in Atlanta following the US and Israel’s attacks on the country. Infantino says everyone needs an event like the World Cup to bring people together, now more than ever. The tournament kicks off on the 11th of June.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-37-cents and the euro at 18-rand-98-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-97-cents and Bitcoin trades at 69-thousand-172-dollars. Gold sells at five-thousand-192-dollars-96-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 89-dollars-42-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….