News 11:00

BULLETIN 23 March 11 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Paul Mashatile reiterates South Africa’s non-alignment stance amid the Middle East war
# The MK Party says the capture of the SABC is a threat to democratic accountability
# And tennis: Carlos Alcaraz is knocked out of the Miami Open in the third round

# Deputy president Paul Mashatile says South Africa’s posture remains of being non-aligned, in the interests of promoting a multipolar world order and defending national interests. He addressed the annual NEDLAC Organised Labour School in Pretoria. Mashatile stated that South Africa will continue to stand for peace in the Middle East and other parts of the world. He added that the country is committed to silencing the guns in Africa and promoting peace and cooperation globally:

Meanwhile, the International Energy Agency chief, Fatih Birol, has warned that the war in the Middle East could see the world face its worst energy crisis in decades. He has compared the current energy crisis to those of the 1970s, when the world lost about ten million barrels of oil per day. Birol says the single most important solution to this problem is opening up the Strait of Hormuz. Earlier this month, the agency agreed to release a record 400 million barrels of oil from strategic stockpiles to ease the global markets.

# The MK Party warns that the capture of the SABC, whether through intimidation, censorship or strategic appointments, poses a direct threat to democratic accountability and media freedom in South Africa. This follows claims that the public broadcaster was pressured by the Presidency and the ANC to cancel the popular current affairs show Face the Nation. The MK Party’s spokesperson, Nhlamulo Ndhlela, says objective reporting and the fearless interrogation of those in power cannot be sacrificed on the altar of political expediency:

# The DA in the Free State has welcomed the decision of the Bloemfontein High Court to grant a final forfeiture order for six luxury properties and a Mercedes-Benz vehicle with a total value of 32 million-rand in Gauteng, Free State and North West. The DA’s Roy Jankielsohn says these assets were ruled by the court to be proceeds of unlawful activities such as fraud, corruption and money laundering linked to the 255-million-rand asbestos roof scandal:

# Tennis: American Sebastian Korda defeated world number one Carlos Alcaraz in the third round of the Miami Open to record the biggest win of his career. The 25-year-old stunned the Spaniard, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4, to set up a clash with 20-year-old qualifier Martin Landaluce of Spain. Frenchman Arthur Fils thrashed Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas, 6-0, 6-1, while Valentin Vacherot of Monaco saw off Italian Matteo Berrettini, 7-6, 6-4. In the women’s draw, Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan cruised into the last 16 with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-24-cents and the euro at 19-rand-88-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-90-cents and Bitcoin trades at 67-thousand-739-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-164-dollars-91-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 109-dollars-40-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….