News 13:00

BULLETIN 17 March 1 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Sadec and East African Community’s ministers meet in Harare over the withdrawal of soldiers from the DRC
# Over six-thousand people have been affected by floods in eThekwini
# And tennis: A Russian teenager shoots up in the world rankings after winning in Indian Wells

# Foreign Affairs ministers from the Southern Africa Develop Community and the East African Community are meeting in Harare, Zimbabwe, today following Sadec’s decision to withdraw soldiers from eastern Democratic Republic of Congo in phases. Angola’s president and African Union chairperson, João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço, will oversee the peace process. Meanwhile, Zimbabwe and Kenya’s Foreign Affairs ministers will update on discussions regarding the region’s security situation as efforts to stabilise the conflict-hit area continue.

# eThekwini mayor Cyril Xaba says great strides have been made to alleviate the plight of more than six-thousand families who have been adversely affected by the recent floods. Severe weather, including heavy rains between February 19 and this weekend, has claimed lives and infrastructure was damaged. Xaba says they have instituted a multi-faceted approach to assist with the resettlement of the displaced residents:

# After nine months stranded on the International Space Station, NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams will return to Earth tomorrow. The duo, who were originally due to be on the ISS for only eight days, got stuck on the station in June last year after their Boeing Starliner spacecraft had propulsion issues and was deemed unfit to fly them back to Earth. Wilmore and Williams will be transported with another American astronaut and a Russian cosmonaut aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon craft, which arrived at the ISS yesterday.

# Tennis: Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva shot up five places to number six in the latest world rankings after clinching the Indian Wells Masters title yesterday. The 17-year-old beat world number one, Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, in the final after eliminating number two, Iga Swiatek of Poland, in the semifinal. Americans Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula and Madison Keys are ranked third, fourth and fifth, respectively. Italian Jasmine Paolini dropped one place to seventh, followed by Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, China’s Winwen Zheng and another American, Emma Navarro.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-17-cents and the euro at 19-rand-78-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-52-cents and Bitcoin trades at 83-thousand-743-dollars. Gold sells at two-thousand-992-dollars-55-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 70-dollars-94-cents a barrel.

# And finally: University of the Western Cape lecturer Nikiwe Nondabula questions the relevance of William Shakespeare’s works in African classrooms. She says they have long been a staple in South Africa’s education system, first introduced in colonial classrooms and still central to high school English lessons today. But debates continue over whether they should take precedence over indigenous literature and language texts. Nondabula says many students find Shakespeare’s language outdated and challenging to understand, which affect their ability to engage with the plays:

Stay tuned for more news………….