News 12:00

BULLETIN 11 March 12 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# FOSA cautions government on the state of South Africa’s defence and security amid rising global tensions
# The EFF is calling for the American ambassador to South Africa to be expelled
# And tennis: Sinner and Sabalenka are through to the quarterfinals at Indian Wells

# Forum for South Africa says president Cyril Ramaphosa needs to urgently prioritise the preparedness and strengthening of the country’s defence capabilities. This is amid rising global tensions, including the US-Israeli conflict against Iran, which has created instability in the Middle East. FOSA leader Tebogo Mashilompane says it is impossible to ignore the risk that hostile actors or foreign agents could exploit weaknesses in the country’s borders and security systems:

# The EFF is calling for the US ambassador to South Africa, Leo Brent Bozell, to be expelled and immediately declared persona non grata. This follows his comments at the BizNews Conference, where he stated he does not care what the courts say, but the “Kill The Boer” chant is hate speech. The EFF says the US has no say in what constitutes South Africa’s domestic and foreign policy agenda. It adds Bozell’s comments warrant expulsion as he has expressed contempt for the country and the judiciary.

# Murder-accused Tiffany Meek’s legal team is planning to submit a plea proposal to the Palm Ridge Magistrate’s Court. in Gauteng. She is accused of killing her 11-year-old son Jayden-Lee last year. He was found on the staircase of the complex where his family lives in Fleurhof. Meek, who has been in custody since July, is facing charges of murder and defeating the ends of justice. Her legal representative, Lyle Wyngaard, says they want to bring this case to finality. Meek will be back in court on March 25.

# The National Sea Rescue Institute urges the public to be cautious around water during the ongoing heatwave in parts of the Western Cape. Temperatures are expected to reach the mid-30 to low-40 degrees Celcius this week. The institute’s Andrew Ingram advises being cautious of rip currents and slippery riverbanks and to call rescue services immediately if someone is in danger:

# Tennis: World number two Jannik Sinner is through to the Indian Wells quarterfinals for the third time. The Italian battled past unseeded Brazilian teenager Joao Fonseca and will next face American Learner Tien, who defeated Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. Frenchman Arthur Fils knocked out ninth-seeded Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime to book a quarterfinal meeting with fourth-seeded Alexander Zverev of Germany. In the women’s draw, world number one, Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, defeated Japan’s Naomi Osaka to reach the quarterfinals.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-31-cents and the euro at 18-rand-94-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-91-cents and Bitcoin trades at 69-thousand-576-dollars. Gold sells at five-thousand-191-dollars-56-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 87-dollars-28-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….