News 18:00

BULLETIN 6 March 6 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Cyril Ramaphosa appoints a new Director of Public Prosecutions in Mpumalanga
# RCL Foods recalls dry pet food after contaminated products enter the market
# And, the police launches specialised units in Gauteng to combat organised crime

# President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed Sonja Josiah Ntuli as the Director of Public Prosecutions in Mpumalanga. He was the acting DPP in the province for nearly three years following the departure of Nkebe Kanyane. Ntuli has 29 years of experience in the legal field as an attorney and prosecutor, and has 21 years of service in various capacities within the National Prosecuting Authority. Ramaphosa says he wishes Ntuli well in his role of entrenching the rule of law and bringing to book persons or entities that violate the law.

# RCL Foods has announced a nationwide recall of certain dry pet food lines, including Bobtail, Bonzo, Catmor, Canine Cuisine, Feline Cuisine, Optimizor, and Ultra Pet, after stolen batches previously condemned for Salmonella contamination reached the market. The affected products, intended for destruction in eastern Gauteng, were resold in both informal and formal markets. RCL is working with retailers, regulators, and authorities to remove all affected items, urging pet owners to consult veterinarians if pets show illness.

# The South African Police Service has established two specialised units in Gauteng to strengthen the fight against organised crime. One unit will investigate political killings and attacks on government officials. The second unit will focus on kidnapping, extortion and crimes targeting infrastructure projects. Police ministry spokesperson Kamogelo Mogotsi says the units form part of a broader strategy to deal with increasingly complex criminal networks:

# Israel pounded Beirut today, ordering an unprecedented evacuation of all suburbs on the entire southern side of the Lebanese capital, a major expansion in the war against Iran which Israel began a week ago alongside the United States. The Israeli military said it carried out 26 waves of strikes against Hezbollah command centres and weapons storage locations in Lebanon overnight. Israel also launched a new wave of attacks on Iran, saying 50 of its warplanes had struck a bunker in Tehran which is still used by Iran’s leadership.

# Rugby: Former Springbok and Italian head coach Nick Mallett believes Italy’s halfback pairing could be the difference between winning and losing in tomorrow’s Six Nations match against England in Rome. Brothers Alessandro and Paolo Garbisi impressed in the Azzurri’s good start to the campaign. Mallett says Italy’s pack had always been good, but they had very inexperienced half-backs after flyhalf Diego Dominguez and scrumhalf Alessandro Troncon’s retirements over 20-years ago. He thinks the Garbisi brothers could just help them beat England for the very first time.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-75-cents against the rand and the euro at 19-rand-36-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-35-cents and Bitcoin trades at 68-thousand-768-dollars. Gold sells at five-thousand-96-dollars-91-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 87-dollars-75-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….