News 08:00

BULLETIN 10 March 8 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Nine church members were killed in a bus accident
# The cabinet is set to give final approval for the reworked budget
# And Canada’s Liberal Party elects Mark Carney as its new leader and prime minister

# Nine members of the Twelve Apostles Church in Trinity died in a bus accident on the N2 between Mandeni and Stanger in KwaZulu-Natal on Sunday. It is believed that a tyre bust caused the 82-seater bus to lose control while carrying congregants returning home from church. A four-year-old is among those killed. Provincial Department of Transport’s spokesperson, Ndabezinhle Sibiya, says 51 people were injured and transported to various hospitals:

# Cabinet is set to give its final approval of Finance minister Enoch Godongwana’s reworked budget today. The minister is expected to deliver his budget speech on Wednesday. The tabling of the budget was postponed last month over disagreements within the government of national unity regarding a proposed two-percent value-added tax increase. DA leader John Steenhuisen has indicated that his party will only support the reworked budget if it puts more emphasis on igniting the economy.

# Former central governor Mark Carney has won the race to succeed Justin Trudeau as Canada’s prime minister and Liberal Party leader. The 59-year-old, who won 85.9-percent of the vote, will lead the Liberals into the general election, which must be held by October. Former deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland came in second place with eight-percent of the vote. In his acceptance speech, Carney criticised US president Donald Trump’s implementation of tariffs and his repeated calls for Canada to become the America’s 51st state:

# Rugby: England claimed a 47-24 bonus-point victory over Italy at Twickenham, to move up to second, a point behind France, in the Six Nations table. Wing Ollie Sleightholme crossed the line twice as the Red Roses scored seven tries against Italy’s three. France is in pole position to claim the title in the final round against Scotland on Super Saturday. However, England and Ireland are still in contention. England coach, Steve Borthwick, says he is pleased with the performance:

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-34-cents and the euro at 19-rand-87-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-67-cents and Bitcoin trades at 82-thousand-and-14-dollars. Gold sells at two-thousand-912-dollars-40-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 69-dollars-72-cents a barrel.

# And finally, minister of Sport, Arts, and Culture, Gayton McKenzie, has paid tribute to Athol Fugard, saying South Africa has lost one of its greatest literary and theatrical icons. The 92-year-old, renowned playwright, actor, author, and director died at his Stellenbosch home. Minister McKenzie says Fugard sacrificed many of his privileges to tell the story of South African pain under apartheid with honesty and bravery. He adds that his work shaped the cultural and social landscape of the nation.

Stay tuned for more news………….