News 06:00

BULLETIN 20 March 6 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Fikile Mbalula says the ANC won’t allow any party to steal its trademarks
# Russia has launched 130 missiles and nearly 900 bombs in Ukraine in March
# And rugby: The Junior Springbok Player of the Year replaces Jasper Wiese at the Leicester Tigers

# ANC secretary general Fikile Mbalula says the ruling party will not allow any party to steal its legacy and trademarks. Yesterday, the Electoral Court in Bloemfontein heard the ANC’s case against the Independent Electoral Commission over the newly formed uMkhonto weSizwe Party registration process, which former president Jacob Zuma backs. Mbalula says the formation of this new party that has hijacked the name, legacy, and symbols of MK is not an accident, but a deliberate attempt to sow confusion:

Meanwhile, former president Jacob Zuma has reiterated his support for uMkhonto we Sizwe. Addressing supporters outside the court, Zuma referred to the case as being brought by some organisation he used to know:

# President Cyril Ramaphosa has confirmed lifestyle audits of Members of the Executive are underway after several delays. It involves gathering additional information from Ramaphosa, deputy president Paul Mashatile, ministers, and deputy ministers. These audits aim to scrutinise expenditure against incomes, potentially prompting further investigations, if irregularities arise. In his response to questions in Parliament, Ramaphosa says due to budget constraints, capacity was built within the Office of the Director-General for conducting these audits, but delays occurred:

# The EFF Gauteng has expressed concern about the province’s water crisis after meeting with Rand Water officials, who revealed a system near collapse with a 30-percent total water shortage. The bulk water utility says this is due to high consumption, climate factors like the heatwave, inconsistent rainfall, and infrastructure issues. With 25-percent of fresh water lost to leaks, the EFF has urged municipalities to implement water restrictions and residents to conserve water.

# Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Russia launched 130 missiles, more than 320 Shahed attack drones, and almost 900 guided bombs in Kiev this month. This comes as both countries have increased aerial attacks, as Moscow’s troops advance on the frontlines and Ukraine faces a shortage of manpower and weapons. Zelenskyy says Ukraine has demonstrated that it is capable of successfully shooting down Russian terrorist missiles and drones, as well as destroying Russian military aircraft. He adds that they still however require more protection.

# Rugby: Junior Springbok Player of the Year Corné Beets is set to replace World Cup-winning eighth-man Jasper Wiese at Leicester Tigers. Wiese announced he is leaving the English club at the end of the season, and is being linked to a move to French team Stade Francais. Twenty-year-old Beets, who matriculated at Paarl Gymnasium, captured the attention during last year’s Under 20 World Championship in which he scored a try in the third-place play-off against England. He will join Springbok flyhalf Handré Pollard at Leicester.

# And, the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-92-cents and the euro at 20-rand-56-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-6-cents and Bitcoin trades at 62-thousand-217-dollar-79-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-159-dollars-65-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 87-dollars-8-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….