News 06:00

BULLETIN 27 March 6 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Fikile Mbalula accuses the US of racial inequality and warmongering
# The British government halves its economic growth forecast
# And rugby: SA Rugby welcomes FNB as its lead sponsor for the Springboks

# ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula says the United States is being hypocritical and showing oppressive traits in its foreign policy. Speaking at the  Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa, Denosa, in Ekurhuleni, Mbalula criticised the US for using its veto powers in the United Nations Security Council to block accountability for Israel’s violations of international law. He reaffirmed the ANC’s support for Palestine and Western Sahara, calling for a fairer global system:

# The DA has condemned Defence minister Angie Motshekga’s silence over the Army’s planned golf day on 4 April, calling it insensitive amid the ongoing crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The party says Motshekga has ignored calls to cancel the event, despite soldiers facing growing threats. The DA’s Nicholas Gotsell slammed the South African National Defence Force for seeking sponsorships from the struggling defence industry and insists the event must be scrapped:

# Gauteng police are searching for the owner of a Lombardy East property where at least 50 foreign nationals, who are suspected human trafficking victims, escaped on Wednesday. Officers were called after the foreign nationals, some half-naked, were seen running on the streets and some hiding at a local shop after the escape. Police spokesperson, Mavela Masondo, says they have managed to rescue 32 of the foreign nationals who escaped:

# The UK government halved its 2025 growth forecast as it made billions of pounds of spending cuts to shore up the public purse in the face of economic headwinds. The Spring Statement spending update came as the Labour government, elected in July after a landslide election win, faces sluggish economic growth and rising borrowing costs. Britain’s economy is expected to grow by just one-percent this year, revised down from an estimate of two-percent made in late October when Labour gave its inaugural budget.

# Rugby: FNB is now the main sponsor of the Springboks, with its logo featured on the team’s jerseys. This builds on a partnership that started in 2017. FNB will support the men’s, women’s, and youth teams. FNB CEO Harry Kellan says the sponsorship reflects the bank’s commitment to rugby’s role in uniting the nation and developing young talent. SA Rugby CEO Rian Oberholzer says the partnership will strengthen rugby.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-27-cents and the euro at 19-rand-61-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-53-cents and Bitcoin trades at 86-thousand-838-dollar-10-cents. Gold sells at three-thousand-19-dollars-53-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 73-dollars-79-cents a barrel.

# And finally: President Cyril Ramaphosa will receive Letters of Credence from heads of mission-designate at the Sefako Makgatho Presidential Guesthouse in Pretoria today. The heads of mission represent 14 countries. Ramaphosa’s spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, says the countries that will be represented include the Republic of Congo, Russia, Japan, Senegal, Portugal and Canada:

Stay tuned for more news………….