News 11:00

BULLETIN 5 March 11 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Iran’s ambassador to South Africa is confident America and Israel will be held accountable for the deadly military strikes
# DIRCO advises over six-thousand-400 South Africans in the Middle East to evacuate via limited commercial flights
# And cricket: The Proteas coach calls their T20 World Cup semifinal defeat to New Zealand a “walloping”

# Iran’s ambassador to South Africa, Mansour Shakib Mehr, says the joint military airstrikes by the US and Israel against Tehran represent a dangerous and unprecedented violation of international laws. He briefed the media on the latest developments in his country, with over one-thousand people having been killed in the airstrikes so far. Mehr is confident Iran will hold both the US and Israel accountable for their actions:

Meanwhile, the Department of International Relations and Cooperation has noted a significant increase in registrations on its Travel Smart system, with over six-thousand-400 South African citizens registering their presence in the Middle East. Spokesperson Chrispin Phiri urges South Africans to take advantage of the resumption of limited commercial flights out of the region:

# Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, Angie Motshekga, has given the assurance that members of the South African National Defence Force will not terrorise communities during their deployment in three provinces. Soldiers will be deployed to crime-ridden areas of Gauteng, the Western Cape and the Eastern Cape, to help police tackle illegal mining, gang violence, and construction mafias. Motshekga says the soldiers have undergone specific training for this deployment. She adds SANDF members will be expected to strictly adhere to a professional code of conduct.

# The SACP in Gauteng has condemned the DA’s personalised billboard targeting premier Panyaza Lesufi. The party says the attack is part of a sustained campaign to tarnish his reputation amid his efforts in education, economic transformation, anti-racism, and pro-poor initiatives. The party affirms full support for Lesufi, denouncing the DA’s political maneuver as a distraction from its own failures and a reflection of deep-seated racial and ideological biases.

# Cricket: Proteas coach Shukri Conrad says they were just not good enough in yesterday’s T20 World Cup semifinal defeat to New Zealand in Kolkata. The Proteas, who had entered the knockout clash as tournament favourites and the only unbeaten team, were completely outplayed as the Black Caps sealed a nine-wicket victory to make Sunday’s final. Conrad admits his team was comprehensively beaten rather than choking under pressure:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-40-cents and the euro at 19-rand-4-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-87-cents and Bitcoin trades at 72-thousand-444-dollars. Gold sells at five-thousand-165-dollars-31-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 82-dollars-16-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….