News 18:00

BULLETIN 11 April 6 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa insists that non-compliant spaza shops must stay closed
# The US fires it Greenland military base chief for undermining vice president Vance
# And rugby: The Bulls bring in more Boks to face Edinburgh in the Challenge Cup quarterfinal

# Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs minister Velenkosini Hlabisa says non-compliant spaza shops must remain shut. Hlabisa was speaking at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Gauteng, where an eight-year-old remains in ICU after eating contaminated snacks. The minister says authorities await lab results on the snack packet, stressing collective responsibility in preventing similar incidents. He commended the City of Johannesburg for closing the shop in question:

 # The DA has welcomed the announcement by Home Affairs minister, Leon Schreiber, that the Border Management Authority will adopt advanced drone technology and body cameras to secure South Africa’s borders and tackle corruption. The DA’s Teboho Sekaledi says the drones will ensure the authority’s capacity shortfall is covered through the use of modern technology:

# The City of Cape Town has expressed concern about the ongoing delays around the issuing of new driving licences. The metro has processed nearly 60-thousand applications for new driving licences and Public Driving Permits since the beginning of the year. However, to date, not a single card has been received from the Driving Licence Card Account in Pretoria. Mayoral committee member for Safety and Security, JP Smith, says this is due to South Africa’s sole licence card printing machine breaking down again:

# The head of the US military base in Greenland has been fired over an alleged email in which she distanced herself from vice-president JD Vance’s criticism of Denmark. The US military says Colonel Susannah Meyers has been removed from her role at Pituffik Space Base due to a loss of confidence in her ability to lead. Meyers’ alleged email told staff Vance’s comments were not reflective of the base. The Pentagon says undermining US leadership was not tolerated. Vance also reiterated president Donald Trump’s desire to annex Greenland for security reasons.

# Rugby: Ruan Nortjé and Cameron Hanekom are back in the Bulls’ starting team for their Challenge Cup quarterfinal clash with Edinburgh in Scotland tomorrow. They were on the bench against Bayonne last week. Springbok hooker Johan Grobbelaar also comes onto the bench with Johan Goosen and Canan Moodie. The other Boks on the bench are Marco van Staden, Jan-Hendrik Wessels and Embrose Papier. Keagan Johannes holds on to the number 10 jersey. Kick-off is at 1:30 pm.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 19-rand-16-cents and the euro at 21-rand-81-cents. One British pound costs 25-rand-10-cents and Bitcoin trades at 82-thousand-289-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-235-dollars-10-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 62-dollars-86-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….