News 12:00

BULLETIN 28 February 12 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Cabinet is on high alert as a disease outbreak hits KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape
# RISE Mzansi wants the minister of Transport to explain the appointment of the SAA’s new Group CEO
# And cricket: Afghanistan’s coach says his charges will never be taken lightly again

# Cabinet is monitoring an outbreak of hand, foot, and mouth disease in KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape. The highly contagious viral infection, which spreads quickly among children, causes flu-like symptoms, painful blisters and swollen hands. Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni reassured the public the disease is not fatal and is different from the animal-based foot and mouth disease:

# RISE Mzansi has called for Transport minister Barbara Creecy to appear before Parliament’s portfolio committee on Transport to explain the appointment of John Lamola as South African Airway’s new Group CEO. RISE Mzansi’s Makashule Gana cites concerns over alleged political interference involving deputy president Paul Mashatile, and the ANC’s deployment committee. He calls for transparency in the recruitment process:

# The GOOD Party in George is calling for the findings of the investigation into last year’s building collapse to be tabled in council. The building was still under construction when it collapsed in May, resulting in the death of 34 people, while 28 were rescued. GOOD’s Chantelle Kyd says by reviewing the findings, they can prevent incidents of this nature from occurring in future and also give much-needed closure to the victims’ families:

# Kenyan police are confident they will catch the murderers of a Scottish businessman whose body was found in a sack of pineapples. Campbell Scott was last seen on 16 February attending a conference at a hotel in Nairobi. His body was discovered days later in a forest southeast of the city. Scott’s hands were tied behind his back, and he appeared to have been tortured. Two people have been arrested as inquiries continue.

# Cricket: Afghanistan’s head coach, Jonathan Trott, says no-one will write his team off again. The country stunned England in their Champions Trophy match on Wednesday, winning by eight runs to eliminate the English from the tournament. Ibrahim Zadran anchored Afghanistan’s innings of 325 for seven with his brilliant 177 off just 146 balls. Trott says this performance, and their good showing in the previous two World Cups, mean there is no chance Australia will take them lighty in today’s encounter, especially with semifinal qualification on the line. Afghanistan is batting first.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-47-cents and the euro at 19-rand-20-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-26-cents and Bitcoin trades at 78-thousand-482-dollars. Gold sells at two-thousand-885-dollars-9-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 72-dollars-82-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….