News 16:00

BULLETIN 16 March 4 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Witness D’s alleged assassin is confirmed as a former SAPS task force member
# A suspect is shot dead after a hostage drama at a KwaZulu-Natal police station
# And tennis: Rybakina improves to her best world ranking ever after reaching the Indian Wells final

# A former member of the police’s special task force, Matipandile Sotheni, has been identified as the alleged murderer of a witness before the Madlanga commission. Marius van der Merwe was shot in Brakpan, Gauteng, in December. Sotheni appeared in the local Magistrate’s Court on six charges, including murder. Spokesperson Athlenda Mathe says police believe Sotheni acted alongside former reservist Wiandré Pretorius, who committed suicide since:

# A man has been shot dead following a hostage stand-off at the Ntuzuma police station in Durban. KwaZulu-Natal police say the suspect, who was being processed for attempted murder, overpowered an official and seized a firearm before holding several officials hostage. The stand-off lasted about 45-minutes before negotiators intervened. Members of the police later moved in and fatally shot the suspect.

# President Cyril Ramaphosa says climate change is increasingly disrupting transport systems and infrastructure. Speaking at the inaugural National Transport Conference in Midrand, Gauteng, Ramaphosa warned extreme weather is damaging roads, rail and ports, affecting the movement of goods and commuters. He says government is prioritising logistics reform through its medium-term development plan, adding that inefficiencies in the transport system cost South Africa’s economy:

# Tennis: Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan replaced Poland’s Iga Swiatek in second place in the world rankings after reaching the final of the Indian Wells Masters. This is her highest ranking ever. Rybakina lost to world number one, Aryna Sabalenka, in the US tournament. Americans Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula and Amanda Anisimova follow Swiatek, while Italian Jasmine Paolini is seventh. Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina and Canadian Victoria Mboko improved to eighth and ninth, respectively, while Russia’s Mirra Andreeva dropped two places to tenth.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-76-cents and the euro at 19-rand-25-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-27-cents and Bitcoin trades at 73-thousand-514-dollars. Gold sells at five-thousand-and-9-dollars-11-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 100-dollars-8-cents a barrel.

# And finally: Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture Gayton McKenzie says discussions are underway to revive the streaming platform Showmax. He was speaking at the South African Film and Television Awards. McKenzie says Showmax recorded losses of billions of rand in the previous financial year. The service, owned by MultiChoice Group and France’s Canal-Plus, was later phased out after missing revenue targets. McKenzie says an announcement on its possible return is expected soon:

Stay tuned for more news………….