News 11:00

BULLETIN 19 March 11 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# SAA says the work-to-rule industrial action by pilots is regrettable
# Netanyahu vows to target Hamas with greater intensity
# And soccer: Africa’s strongest teams continue their qualifying quest for the World Cup

# South African Airways says it regrets the decision by the SAA Pilots Association and National Transport Movement Pilot Forum, to embark on work-to-rule industrial action today. This is over salary increases. The airline is offering an initial increase of 7.3-percent this year, and a 7.6-percent next year and in 2027. However, the unions are demanding 15.7-percent. SAA says this offer is both fair and generous, especially given the financial challenges it faces. It adds that contingency measures have been implemented to minimise the impact of the industrial action.

# The Public Servants Association is calling for an independent investigation into KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, instead of the Independent Police Investigative Directorate. The PSA has expressed concern about inconsistencies in how IPID is handling the case, citing the investigation needs to be fair and transparent. The association’s Claude Naiker urges president Cyril Ramaphosa to appoint a retired judge to lead the investigation and strengthen IPID’s independence to ensure public trust in police accountability.

# The DA in the Western Cape says there are still some major challenges that need to be addressed, to ensure a seamless migration process for social grant beneficiaries from gold cards to Postbank black cards. All Sassa gold cards will expire tomorrow. So far, more than one-million grant recipients have access to the Post Bank’s new black card. The DA’s Wendy Kaizer-Philander says they are still concerned about the shortage of Postbank service points in the province:

# Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the new wave of airstrikes against Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip is only the beginning. At least 413 people were killed and a further 562 injured in the attacks on Monday. The airstrikes have put an end to the fragile ceasefire between Hamas and Israel. Netanyahu has reaffirmed his intention to carry on fighting until all hostages are released and Hamas is destroyed:

# Soccer: Africa’s strongest teams continue their quest this week to qualify for next year’s World Cup in Northern America. Bafana Bafana plays Lesotho in Polokwane, Limpopo, on Friday, while Rwanda and Nigeria will face off in Kigali. Today, Cameroon will face Eswatini in Mbombela, South Africa. Tomorrow, Mozambique will play Uganda in Cairo, Egypt. Among the other fixtures are Liberia against Tunisia, and the Central African Republic against Madagascar. Nine slots are reserved in the tournament for African teams, plus an inter-confederation play-off slot.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-18-cents and the euro at 19-rand-85-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-59-cents and Bitcoin trades at 83-thousand-and-15-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-and-40-dollars-70-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 69-dollars-84-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….