News 12:00

BULLETIN 17 March 12 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Ramaphosa is confident tensions with the US will be resolved
# Minister Majodina vows to ensure the Clanwilliam Dam wall project is accelerated
# And SpaceX’s Starship will leave Earth for Mars at the end of next year

# President Cyril Ramaphosa believes the historic relationship between South Africa and the US will outlive the current bumpy patch. This follows the expulsion of South Africa’s ambassador to the US, Ebrahim Rasool, on Friday, over his comments on president Donald Trump’s administration. Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused Rasool of being a race-baiting politician and declared him persona non grata. Ramaphosa’s spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, told New24 government is prepared to have constructive discussions with the Trump administration about areas of convergence and alignment.

# Parliament’s portfolio committee on Social Development has commended whistleblowers who continue to inform law enforcement agencies about the South African Social Security Agency officials suspected of fraud. Committee chairperson Bridget Masango says police arrested four SASSA officials at the Johannesburg local office on Friday after receiving a tip-off from whistleblowers:

# Water and Sanitation minister, Pemmy Majodina, says her department will ensure the acceleration of the 5.7-billion-rand project to raise the Clanwilliam Dam wall situated in the Olifants River in the Western Cape. The project in the Cederberg Municipality is expected to be completed in 2028. Majodina says the project will not only determine the safety of the dam but will also bring economic spin-offs to the area:

# Golf: 2019 champion Rory McIlroy will face American JJ Spaun in a three-hole playoff today to decide the Players Championship winner in Florida. A four-hour weather delay ensured the PGA Tour’s flagship event could not finish yesterday. The Northern Irishman posted a four-under 68 to finish alongside Spaun on 12 under. Americans Tom Hoge, Akshay Bhatia, and Lucas Glover finished two strokes back in tied-third on ten under. McIlroy says he failed to capitalise on his chances:

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-20 and the euro at 19-rand-81-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-55-cents and Bitcoin trades at 83-thousand-564-dollars. Gold sells at two-thousand-986-dollars-80-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 70-dollars-80-cents a barrel.

# And finally: SpaceX founder Elon Musk sayst his company’s massive Starship rocket would leave for Mars at the end of next year, carrying with it Tesla’s humanoid robot, Optimus. In a post on X, Musk also suggested that human landings on Mars could begin as early as 2029 if the initial landings go well, though 2031 was more likely. The update follows several recent disappointments for the world’s first private space firm and Musk’s long-term vision of colonizing Mars.

Stay tuned for more news………….