News 08:00

BULLETIN 14 March 8 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Paul Mashatile says South Africa is committed to improving relations with the US
# Solidarity seeks urgent wage talks to retain FlySafair’s pilots
# And rugby: Cheslin Kolbe and Nadine Roos claim the top honours at the SA Rugby Awards

# Deputy president Paul Mashatile says South Africa is focused on stabilising relations with the USA, considering the partnership is critical to the country’s economic development goals. The Expropriation Act has been at the centre of the straining of diplomatic relations between Pretoria and Washington since US president Donald Trump returned to the White House. Speaking at the BizNews conference in the Western Cape, Mashatile said various actors must support government in promoting the nation’s interests in the US, including through mechanisms such as the African Growth and Opportunity Act.

# Trade union Solidarity is set to begin salary negotiations with FlySafair to improve pilot wages and working conditions, aiming to prevent a growing exodus of skilled staff. The union says changes to the airline’s rostering system have severely affected pilots’ quality of life, leading to dissatisfaction and potential staff losses. Solidarity’s Remon Viviers warns that if these issues aren’t addressed, FlySafair’s operations could suffer:

# Emergency services in KwaZulu-Natal say they received unconfirmed reports of two vehicles swept away down a river in Pinetown on Thursday. The South African Weather Service issued an alert level 6 warning for disruptive rains and thunderstorms for various parts of the province. ALS Paramedics managing director, Garrith Jamieson, told Newzroom Afrika that there are eyewitnesses who said they saw at least one vehicle being washed down the river:

# The EFF has welcomed the Southern African Development Community’s decision to terminate the mandate of its mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and commence the phased withdrawal of troops. The conflict with Rwandan-backed M23 rebels led to the deaths of at least 19 soldiers from South Africa, Malawi and Tanzania. The mission was deployed in December 2023. The EFF says the continued deterioration of security in eastern DRC, particularly the capture of Goma and Bukavu, further demonstrated the failure of mission to achieve its objectives.

# Rugby: Springbok wing Cheslin Kolbe won the men’s player of the year award at the SA Rugby Awards, becoming the first backline player since 2013 to take the prestigious title. Nadine Roos won the women’s player of the year. Bok flyhalf Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu scooped the young player of the year award, while Blitzboks speedster Selvyn Davids won Sevens player of the year. The Springboks and Rassie Erasmus were named team and coach of the year, respectively. Kolbe says winning was unexpected:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-30-cents and the euro at 19-rand-84-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-68-cents and Bitcoin trades at 82-thousand-151-dollars. Gold sells at two-thousand-985-dollars-23-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 70-dollars-8-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….