News 16:00

BULLETIN 11 March 4 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The ANC confirms only six of 20 state capture implicated members are on the election candidate list 
# The Transnet National Ports Authority invests in road rehabilitation at the Durban port 
# And tennis: Novak Djokovic will play for a last 16 place in California 

# The ANC says its candidate list for the elections includes only six out of 20 individuals implicated in the state capture commission’s report. The party says this signals a clear attempt to distance itself from past controversies and align with a narrative of renewal and accountability. Briefing the media, ANC secretary general Fikile Mbalula says the party’s decision to exclude most state-capture implicated members suggests a strategic shift towards rebuilding public trust and credibility:

# Transnet National Ports Authority is allocating 233-million-rand towards rehabilitating key road infrastructure at the port of Durban. The Southern Road Network handles 60-percent of South Africa’s container volumes, and the influx of trucks over the years has led to the deterioration of the overall road infrastructure. The authority aims to enhance operational efficiencies and traffic flow by prioritising repairs in critical container handling precincts, targeting structural and functional defects over a two-year project period.

# Western Cape parents have been urged to apply online for Grade 1 and 8 learners for the 2025 academic year. The application process began today with seven-thousand-875 applications received. Education MEC David Maynier says pop-up admission sites have also been deployed. Parents should prepare certified documents of last school report card, identity documents, immunisation card for primary schools, and proof of residence. He says the applications close on the 12th of next month:

# Tennis: World number one Novak Djokovic will continue his Indian Wells campaign when he takes on unseeded Italian Luca Nardi for a place in the last 16. The 36-year-old Serb needed three sets to beat Aleksander Vukic of Australia in his first match since his semifinal loss at the Australian Open in late January. The 24-time Grand Slam champion would love to capture a record sixth crown in California, but says he will have to continue improving:

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-70-cents and the euro at 20-rand-46-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-2-cents and Bitcoin trades at 72-thousand-16-dollars-33-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-180-dollars-34-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 81-dollars-84-cents a barrel.

# And finally: The movie Oppenheimer had a glittering night at the Oscars, but in Hiroshima, devastated by the first nuclear bomb in 1945, the film about the weapon’s creator is harder to stomach. The president of the Japanese city’s international film festival, Kyoko Heya, asked if this was really a movie that people in Hiroshima can bear to watch. Around 140-thousand people died in the city when the United States dropped an atomic bomb. Oppenheimer will finally be released in Japan on 29 March. Heya told AFP she had found the movie “very America-centric”.

Stay tuned for more news………….