News 15:00

BULLETIN 17 March 3 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Police commissioner Masemola questions the disbandment of the political killings task team
# Israel says Iran’s security chief Ali Larijani has been killed
# And cricket: New Zealand squares the T20 series against the Proteas with a 68-run victory in Hamilton

# National police commissioner Fannie Masemola has told Parliament’s ad hoc committee he questioned the rationale behind a directive to disband the political killings task team during a high-level meeting. He says minister of Police Senzo Mchunu failed to provide clear reasons, despite concerns raised by senior officials. Masemola adds disagreements emerged over whether the unit was truly being dissolved or simply restructured, with members possibly reassigned:

# Union federation Saftu says the Post Office crisis is a result of policy failures and governance failures. The Post Office’s business rescue practitioners have expressed their intention to file for liquidation. Saftu’s Asive Dyani says government must abandon any plans to liquidate the Post Office, but instead act decisively to restore governance, recover lost revenues, and rebuild the state-owned entity:

# Energy and chemicals company Sasol says its new de-stoning plant in Mpumalanga is already improving coal quality and operational performance. The facility supports production at Sasol’s Secunda operations by removing rock fragments and other impurities from mined coal. CEO Simon Baloyi says the plant has reduced impurities to below 14-percent, improving gasifier efficiency and helping lift production in the first quarter.

Moving abroad: 

# Israel’s Defence minister, Israel Katz, says Iran’s security chief, Ali Larijani, has been killed. The Israeli Defence Force also says it killed Basij force commander Gholamreza Soleimani in an attack on the Iranian capital of Tehran last night. Iran has not commented yet. Israeli air strikes also rained down on three neighbourhoods in Beirut, Lebanon. In Geneva, Switzerland, United Nations Human Rights ⁠Office spokesperson ⁠Thameen al-Kheetan said Israeli air ‌strikes have destroyed entire residential buildings in dense urban environments with whole families killed.

# Cricket: New Zealand defeated South Africa’s men by 68 runs in the second T20 in Hamilton to square the five-match series. The hosts posted 175 for six, spearheaded by opener Devon Conway’s 60 and a blistering final over off Proteas captain Keshav Maharaj’s bowling that yielded 25 runs. The Proteas started losing wickets early and the final one fell in the 16th over with just 107 runs on the board. George Linde top-scored with 33. The third T20 will be played in Auckland on Friday.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-73-cents and the euro at 19-rand-26-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-31-cents and Bitcoin trades at 73-thousand-990-dollars. Gold sells at five-thousand-and-9-dollars-30-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 100-dollars-35-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….