News 08:00

BULLETIN 17 March 8 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Al Jama-ah says Ebrahim Rasool’s expulsion represents a gross disrespect for diplomacy
# A global systems issue affected FlySafair and LIFT
# And Benjamin Netanyahu wants to sack the head of Israel’s internal security service

# Al Jama-ah has strongly condemned the expulsion of South Africa’s ambassador to the US, Ebrahim Rasool, calling the move unjust. During an online lecture, Rasool accused president Donald Trump of mobilising a supremacism and trying to project white victimhood as a dog whistle. Secretary of State Marco Rubio described Rasool as a race-baiting politician and declared him a persona non grata. Al Jama-ah’s leader, Ganief Hendricks, says the Trump administration’s actions represent a gross disrespect for diplomacy:

# Airports Company South Africa says a global systems issue affected FlySafair and LIFT in the country over the weekend. Passengers travelling with the two airlines experienced longer-than-usual check-in processing times and long queues at check-in counters. FlySafair says it implemented its backup processes, resulting in 98-percent of its departures remaining on time. By Sunday evening, the software issue was resolved at the Cape Town International Airport, with upgrades at OR Tambo and King Shaka International Airports still ongoing.

# The Independent Police Investigative Directorate has launched an investigation into KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner, Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi. He is accused of abusing his power and interfering with the arrest of a senior correctional services official, who is allegedly running a drug cartel at the Westville Maximum Prison in Durban. The IPID’s, Lizzy Suping, says they have requested Mkhwanazi to submit a sworn statement by Wednesday:

# Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking to remove the head of Shin Bet security service, Ronen Bar, saying this will be necessary for achieving the country’s war goals in Gaza. Shin Bet is Israel’s domestic intelligence agency. The prime minister has frequently criticised the agency, placing blame on its leaders for the security lapses that led to the Hamas October 7, 2023, attacks that killed more than one-thousand-200 people. Netanyahu says his ongoing distrust of Bar has led to this decision.

# Motorsport: Six-time MotoGP world champion Marc Marquez won the Argentina Grand Prix to maintain his perfect start to the season. The 32-year-old Spaniard finished ahead of his brother Alex Marquez and Franco Morbidelli to clinch the 90th win of his career. Meanwhile, South Africa’s Brad Binder ended his race in seventh place for Red Bull KTM. Marquez says he is impressed at how his brother was able to match him at every step of the race:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-20-cents and the euro at 19-rand-79-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-53-cents and Bitcoin trades at 83-thousand-466-dollars. Gold sells at two-thousand-986-dollars-76-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 70-dollars-62-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….