News 07:00

BULLETIN 17 March 7 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Daniel Silke says the deterioration of the SA-US relationship is concerning
# ArcelorMittal needs 3.1-billion-rand to save jobs
# Donald Trump launches a large-scale attack on Yemen’s Houthis

# Political analyst Daniel Silke says seeing the deterioration of the South Africa-US relationship is concerning. This follows the expulsion of South Africa’s ambassador to the US, Ebrahim Rasool, after declaring him persona non grata. During a webinar, the ambassador accused US president Donald Trump, of leading a white supremacist movement. Silke says Rasool should have known better than to press precisely the wrong buttons at a time when economic and political ties require smart handling:

Silke also says Trump’s accusations against South Africa’s domestic policies, though unfounded, should have been treated with a greater degree of diplomacy. Silke says the country cannot afford to antagonise the US any further:

# ArcelorMittal South Africa is reportedly seeking a 3.1-billion-rand rescue package to avert the closure of its Vereeniging and Newcastle facilities. The closure would result in the loss of about three-thousand-500 jobs. Rescue talks with the government have so far failed to yield results. According to the Sunday Times, the Department of Trade, Industry, and Competition is looking at options to retain the capacity to make long-steel products in the country, should ArcelorMittal be unable to operate the plants. The department says negotiations with the company are ongoing.

# The City of Tshwane says it will not tolerate acts of sabotage against the city’s essential infrastructure and will continue to take a firm stance against crime. Last week, Tshwane Metro Police cable theft Unit arrested six suspects after they were found accessing the Fouriesburg Substation in Centurion using a duplicate key. Mayoral committee member for Community Safety, Hannes Coetzee says cable theft and infrastructure vandalism have direct consequences for the communities:

# President Trump launched large-scale military strikes against Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis yesterday over the group’s attacks against Red Sea shipping, killing at least 31 people at the start of a campaign expected to last many days. Trump also warned Iran, the Houthis’ main backer, that it needed to immediately halt support for the group. The unfolding strikes – which one U.S. official told Reuters might continue for weeks – represent the biggest U.S. military operation in the Middle East since Trump took office in January.

# Tennis: British number one Jack Draper defeated Denmark’s Holger Rune to win the Indian Wells Masters, the biggest title of his career. The 23-year-old stormed to a 6-2, 6-2 victory in just 68 minutes to claim his first ATP 1000 Masters title. In the women’s draw, 17-year-old Russian Mirra Andreeva captured her second consecutive 1000 title after toppling world number one Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, 2-6, 6-4, 6-3, in the final. Draper says he is proud of his achievement:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-18-cents and the euro at 19-rand-78-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-51-cents and Bitcoin trades at 82-thousand-974-dollar-60-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-991-dollars-24-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 71-dollars-55-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….