News 11:00

BULLETIN 4 March 11 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# COPE mourns the passing of its leader, Mosiuoa Lekota
# The US Senate will vote on a resolution to limit Trump’s military operations in Iran
# And cricket: Markram says they are wary of New Zealand ahead of their T20 World Cup semifinal clash

# COPE has expressed sadness at the passing of its founding leader, Mosiuoa Lekota. The 77-year-old anti-apartheid activist passed away in a hospital after battling a long illness. Lekota served in various government capacities, including as premier of the Free State and minister of Defence, and was also an ANC chairperson between 2002 and 2007. COPE’s Pakes Dikgetsi says the memorial and funeral arrangements will be communicated in due course:

# The Campaign for Free Expression and Moxii Africa are asking the Western Cape High Court to declare automatic publication bans on sexual offence and extortion cases invalid. They want the laws replaced with narrower, rights-respecting measures that protect complainants while allowing the public and media to scrutinise cases. The organisations state the current rules unfairly restrict media freedom and transparency, and can even criminalise survivors who wish to speak publicly.

# The Gauteng Department of Education says it has completed the placement of the remaining Grade 1 and Grade 8 learners, who applied through the 2026 Online Admissions system. The total number of learners that were placed for this academic year through the online system is 392-thousand-224. The department’s spokesperson, Steve Mabona, says 8.5-percent of these applications were made during the late application period:

Moving abroad:

# The US Senate will today vote on a bipartisan War Powers Resolution to limit president Donald Trump’s use of force in Iran. The US and Israel have hit over two-thousand targets in Iran since Saturday. Tehran has retaliated with a wave of attacks across the Middle East. In a letter notifying Congress, Trump said the threat from Iran had been untenable despite efforts to find a diplomatic solution. Virginia Democratic Senator Tim Kaine says Americans want Trump to lower prices, not drag the country into unnecessary, endless wars.

# Cricket: Proteas captain Aiden Markram expects a tough clash against New Zealand in today’s T20 World Cup semifinal in Kolkata. South Africa has won all seven matches in the lead-up to the knockouts. In the group stages, the Proteas coasted to a convincing seven-wicket win over the Black Caps. Markram is confident they can adapt to the conditions at Eden Gardens, where they have never played a T20 match:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-49-cents and the euro at 19-rand-15-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-99-cents and Bitcoin trades at 68-thousand-588-dollars. Gold sells at five-thousand-167-dollars-21-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 83-dollars-17-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….