News 06:00

BULLETIN 19 March 6 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# South Africa condemns the Israeli airstrikes on Gaza
# Paul Mashatile says the government is addressing obstacles to economic growth
# And the World Health Organisation urges the US to reconsider funding cuts

# The Department of International Relations and Cooperation has condemned Israel’s renewed airstrikes on Gaza, which have killed over 350 Palestinians. The attacks, targeting residential areas and shelters, come despite ongoing ceasefire negotiations. The United Nations has urged an immediate halt to the violence, while the International Court of Justice has ordered Israel to allow aid into Gaza. The government has also criticised Israeli airstrikes on Syria, calling them a violation of sovereignty.

# Deputy president Paul Mashatile says South Africa is making efforts to maintain investor confidence by addressing structural obstacles to economic growth. He was speaking at the United Nations University in Tokyo, Japan on Tuesday. Mashatile says the government is implementing extensive structural, policy, and regulatory reforms to enhance the economy’s performance. He says these include managing national water infrastructure, reversing the logistics crisis, restructuring state-owned enterprises, and strengthening the state’s response to corruption and organised crime:

# Convicted serial rapist and murderer Thabo Bester says the Free State High Court judgment against him in February has created a dangerous precedent, that would create judicial chaos in law. He has approached the Constitutional Court to seek leave to appeal the High Court ruling, which dismissed his challenge on the alleged poor conditions of his imprisonment. Bester’s legal team says it would be a travesty of justice if a judgment on the conditions of his imprisonment was left unchallenged.

# The DA says Gauteng’s budget is under pressure due to e-toll debt and overdue invoices. The DA’s Ruhan Robinson slammed MEC Lebogang Maile for excluding the party from budget consultations. Robinson claims that despite a 171-billion-rand budget, the Health Department faces a 7.3-billion-rand deficit, as many service providers remain unpaid. He said the DA will scrutinise the budget, demanding reforms and transparency before offering support:

# The World Health Organisation has urged the US to reconsider its recent decision to cut funding for global health programmes. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned that the funding cuts are already disrupting vital health services, particularly in malaria, HIV, tuberculosis, and measles programmes. He said this could undo years of progress and harm millions of people. Ghebreyesus calls for the US to work with affected countries to find solutions and for other nations to increase their support for global health.

# Cricket: Former Royal Challengers Bengaluru batter, AB de Villiers from South Africa, believes team balance and Indian great Virat Kohli’s presence in the top order will give the team a chance to win the Indian Premier League for the first time this year. The team had all the big names over the years but never succeeded in lifting the trophy. De Villiers represented RCB from 2011 to 2021. He describes this year’s team, also including captain Rajat Patidar, Phil Salt, and Liam Livingstone, as pure power.  

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-11-cents and the euro at 19-rand-81-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-52-cents and Bitcoin trades at 82-thousand-623-dollar-50-cents. Gold sells at three-thousand-32-dollars-62-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 70-dollars-43-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….