News 07:00

BULLETIN 31 March 7 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Minister Lamola says race is not important in choosing an ambassador to the USA
# ActionSA says the citizens cannot pay for the mismanagement of the government of national unity
# And experts predict the death toll in the Myanmar earthquake could exceed 10-thousand

# ANC national executive committee member and International Relations minister, Ronald Lamola, says the most qualified person will be appointed as South Africa’s ambassador to the US. There are calls for president Cyril Ramaphosa to appoint a white individual to replace Ebrahim Rasool, with DA federal council chair Helen Zille suggesting former leader Tony Leon for the role. The position became available after Rasool was expelled from America for accusing president Donald Trump and his administration of supremacism. Lamola says the ANC remains a non-racial party:

# ActionSA says it rejects any tax hikes that force hard-working South Africans to pay for the government of national unity mismanagement and the corruption that has hollowed out this country. Finance minister Enoch Godongwana revealed the DA’s role in pushing for personal income tax bracket creep. ActionSA’s Alan Beesley says this is yet another burden on hard-working South Africans, who are already expected to pay for government corruption, incompetence, and waste:

# The Agriculture Department says it has intensified control measures to curb the spread of the foot and mouth disease in KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape. KZN has reported 165 cases with the Eastern Cape having 40 cases. The department says ongoing testing on selected properties aims to finalise surveillance efforts, with the hope that the results will support the lifting of foot and mouth disease restrictions soon. It has urged farmers to limit animal movements and exercise caution when procuring animals.

# AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit says it rejects any allegations that the unit protects an alleged rapist from a police investigation. The unit represents Jaco Pieterse, principal of Bergview College in Matatiele, in the Eastern Cape. AfriForum’s Barry Bateman says Pieterse is not a suspect in the rape case involving a learner from the school, nor did the police consider him a suspect who would justify their request for a swab sample for DNA testing:

# The US Geological Survey’s predictive modelling estimates that the death toll from the powerful 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Myanmar could top ten-thousand. At least one-thousand-700 people are now confirmed dead and three-thousand-400 injured, after the largest earthquake hit the war-ravaged country in more than a century on Friday. In neighbouring Thailand, the death toll has risen to 18. Authorities say rescue efforts have been hindered by damaged roads, downed bridges, poor communications, and the challenges of operating in a country in the middle of a civil war.

# Cricket: Australia’s Mitchell Starc starred with the ball as the Delhi Capitals cruised to a seven-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League. Starc took his first five-wicket haul in T20 cricket to restrict the Sunrisers to 163. In reply, South Africa’s Faf du Plessis scored 50 as the Delhi Capitals reached the target with 30 balls to spare. Meanwhile, in Guwahati, Nitish Rana smashed 81 as Rajasthan Royals claimed their first win of the campaign with a six-run victory over the Chennai Super Kings.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-41-cents and the euro at 19-rand-94-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-86-cents and Bitcoin trades at 81-thousand-783-dollar-30-cents. Gold sells at three-thousand-90-dollars-90-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 72-dollars-49-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….