News 09:00

BULLETIN 9 March 9 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The MK Party prepares to take legal action against Paul O’Sullivan and Sarah-Jane Trent 
# At least 32 people are injured in an Iranian drone attack op Bahrein
# And tennis: Sinner and Sabalenka are through to the Indian Wells round of 16

# The MK Party says it is preparing legal action against private investigator Paul O’Sullivan and his former assistant, Sarah-Jane Trent, accusing the pair of influencing and politicising South Africa’s justice system. This follows Trent’s admission before Parliament’s Ad Hoc Committee that O’Sullivan’s organisation, Forensics for Justice, was involved in opening several high-profile cases, including one against Duduzile Sambudla-Zuma. The MK Party’s spokesperson, Nhlamulo Ndhlela, says they are also seeking avenues to pursue criminal charges against the two:

# Education activist Hendrick Makaneta acknowledges the work done by the National Student Financial Aid Scheme to resolve outstanding issues faced by students, including accommodation. NSFAS board chairperson, Mugwena Maluleke, announced that the scheme has received 224-thousand-983 accommodation applications from students, and 148-thousand-825 students and accommodation providers have submitted signed leases. Makaneta urges NSFAS to move with the necessary speed to ensure that there is general compliance, especially for students who reside in private student accommodation:

# Minister of Higher Education and Training, Buti Manamela, has requested an urgent report from the Education, Training and Development Practices Sector Education and Training Authority, over a lease agreement that has cost taxpayers 15-million-rand. The state-owned entity has been paying rent for a building in Johannesburg that its staff cannot use, as it’s riddled with health hazards. The department’s spokesperson, Matshepo Seedat, says this raises serious concerns relating to governance, building compliance, and the potential implications for public funds:

# At least 32 people were injured, four seriously, when Iranian drone strikes hit the Bahrain island of Sitra in the early hours of this morning. The youngest person wounded is a two-month-old. Bahrain’s National Communication Centre says the attacks targeted civilian residential areas close to energy infrastructure and caused significant damage. Meanwhile, the Israeli military has launched a new wave of strikes on central Iran and has struck Hezbollah infrastructure in Beirut, Lebanon, today.

# Tennis: World number two Jannik Sinner of Italy and Germany’s Alexander Zverev are through to the Indian Wells round of 16. Sinner defeated Canada’s Denis Shapovalov, 6-3, 6-2, to make the fourth round for the fifth time in as many appearances in the California desert. Fourth-seeded Zverev battled past American Brandon Nakashima, 7-6, 5-7, 6-4. In the women’s draw, top seed Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus cruised past Romanian Jaqueline Cristian, 6-4, 6-1, to reach the last 16, while American Amanda Anisimova beat Britain’s Emma Raducanu, 6-1, 6-1, in 53-minutes.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-85-cents and the euro at 19-rand-42-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-42-cents, and Bitcoin trades at 67-thousand-526-dollars. Gold sells at five-thousand-90-dollars-29-cents a fine ounce, and Brent crude oil is quoted at 111-dollars-72-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….