News 09:00

BULLETIN 4 March 9 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# COPE leader Mosiuoa Lekota has died at the age of 77
# DA accuses DIRCO of not doing enough to help South Africans stranded in conflict-ridden Middle East
# And Alcaraz, Sinner, Ledecky and Norris nominated for the Laureus World Sports Awards

# The Congress of the People’s founder and leader, Mosiuoa Lekota, has died at the age of 77. The former minister of Defence and Free State premier passed away at a Johannesburg hospital in the early hours of this morning. Lekota stepped back from active politics last year to focus on his health, which led to the appointment of Teboho Loate as the interim leader of COPE. The circumstances surrounding his death are not known at this stage.

# The DA is calling on the Department of International Relations and Cooperation to open reliable communication channels and emergency consular services for South Africans stranded in Gulf countries and states in the broader Middle East. This is in the wake of the recent US and Israeli military strikes on Iran and the ensuing retaliatory attacks, which resulted in flights being cancelled in several countries. The DA’s Ryan Smith says DIRCO’s incompetence on this matter may cost South Africans their lives:

Meanwhile president Donald Trump has suggested that the US Navy would escort tankers through the Strait of Hormuz if necessary. Shipping through the strait, which carries one-fifth of the oil consumed globally as well as large quantities of gas, has ground to a near halt amid Iranian attacks on oil tankers in the region. About 150 ships are stranded around the strait. Trump says the US government will provide risk insurance at a reasonable price to all shipping firms in the region to ensure the free flow of energy to the world.

# AfriForum says the proposed Water Services Amendment Bill could worsen the water crisis if it centralises control without fixing underlying institutional failures. The organisation warns that politicised appointments, weak oversight, and declining professional capacity remain the real problems. AfriForum’s Lambert de Klerk urges Parliament to strengthen independence, technical competence, safeguard procedures, and allow private sector involvement to improve service delivery and water-quality standards:

# The Garden Route District Municipality in the Western Cape has confirmed that five cases of foot-and-mouth disease have been reported in Mossel Bay. There are also three suspected cases, but the results are still pending. The municipality’s Disaster Management head, Gerhard Otto, says 62 farms have been vaccinated with 12-thousand-659 doses of vaccine administered. He adds that they also received confirmation that a beef herd within a ten-kilometre radius of the index farm tested positive for FMD:

# Laureus Awards: Tennis stars Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have been nominated for the 2026 Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Award. They are shortlisted alongside pole vault world record holder Armand Mondo Duplantis, PSG’s Ousmane Dembélé and MotoGP champion Marc Márquez. The women’s shortlist is headlined by track stars Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Faith Kipyegon and Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, which also includes swimmer Katie Ledecky, tennis player Aryna Sabalenka and soccer player Aitana Bonmatí. Nominees for the Breakthrough of the Year Award include Formula One champion Lando Norris and Darts champion Luke Littler.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-53-cents and the euro at 19-rand-20-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-5-cents, and Bitcoin trades at 67-thousand-615-dollars. Gold sells at five-thousand-164-dollars-53-cents a fine ounce, and Brent crude oil is quoted at 81-dollars-52-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….