News 09:00

BULLETIN 3 March 9 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Police ministry will not interfere with the Phala Phala report
# Siviwe Gwarube and Karabo Khakhau are contesting senior federal positions in the DA
# And, videos of Bill and Hillary Clinton’s depositions on Jeffrey Epstein were released

# The Ministry of Police has clarified that acting minister, Firoz Cachalia, does not direct or interfere with the Independent Police Investigative Directorate’s investigations or findings. This follows the declassification of the IPID report into the 2020 burglary at president Cyril Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala game farm in Limpopo. The report was previously designated as “Top Secret”. The Police ministry’s spokesperson, Kamogelo Mogotsi, says Cachalia’s role is strictly defined and limited by legislation to safeguard the IPID’s independence:

# Basic Education minister, Siviwe Gwarube, has confirmed that she is vying for one of the three DA deputy federal chairperson positions in the federal executive. This is ahead of the party’s elective congress in April, where a new leader will be elected. Gwarube says the DA needs to be the largest party in South Africa to bring the change so desperately needed in the country. DA national spokesperson, Karabo Khakhau, has accepted nomination as first deputy chairperson of the party’s federal council, the party’s highest decision-making body between congresses.

# President Cyril Ramaphosa has offered his condolences to the families of the six workers who died when a building collapsed in Ormonde, south of Johannesburg, on Monday. It is understood that the workers had recently completed the concrete slab for the second-floor deck when the structure gave in, trapping those underneath. Three people remain unaccounted for. Ramaphosa’s spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, says the president appreciates the urgency with which rescue teams are undertaking their urgent tasks:

# The US House Oversight Committee has officially released video of the closed-door depositions of former president Bill Clinton and his wife, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. They answered questions in front of the Republican-led committee about the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell last week. The couple denied any prior knowledge of Epstein’s crimes. In her testimony, Hillary Clinton said president Donald Trump should be compelled to testify before the committee:

# Athletics: The Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya has suspended 27 athletes over violations of anti-doping rules. They include national 400-metre hurdles champion Wiseman Were and former Boston Marathon and Chicago Marathon champion Rita Jeptoo. Twenty-eight-year-old Were has been suspended for missing three tests since August 2025. Jeptoo has been suspended following a test that found the presence of prohibited anabolic androgenic steroids. The list also includes soccer and basketball players who have been provisionally suspended for varying doping offences.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-9-cents and the euro at 18-rand-81-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-56-cents, and Bitcoin trades at 68-thousand-394-dollars. Gold sells at five-thousand-364-dollars-87-cents a fine ounce, and Brent crude oil is quoted at 78-dollars-82-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….