News 13:00

BULLETIN 4 March 1 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Ramaphosa honors Mosiuoa Lekota’s legacy of resilience
# The Pentagon releases the names of US soldiers killed in the Iranian conflict
# And cricket: Santner is confident the Black Caps can rise to the occasion in the T20 World Cup semifinal against the Proteas

# President Cyril Ramaphosa has described the late founder of COPE, Mosiuoa Lekota, as a patriot. The 77-year-old died in hospital this morning following illness. Lekota was imprisoned on Robben Island and later served as Free State premier and Defence minister. Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya says Lekota’s lifelong commitment to resilience, courage and steadfast believe in justice will remain an enduring part of South Africa’s liberation history:

# The DA plans to field its own candidate for chairperson of the newly-established parliamentary committee overseeing the Presidency. The establishment of the committee was a key recommendation of the Zondo commission on state capture. The DA’s George Michalakis says despite a clear lapse in oversight over the Union Buildings, the ANC has been hellbent against this committee, but now plans to field its own candidate for the chairperson position:

Moving abroad:

# The Pentagon ​identified four of the first American soldiers killed in the war against Iran as the ‌Trump administration warned the intensifying conflict would lead to more American casualties. Among six US military deaths so far, the four soldiers were members of an Iowa unit of the Army Reserve. They died on Sunday when a drone slammed into a US military facility in Port ​Shuaiba, Kuwait. The four ranged in ages from 20 to ​42 and served in the 103rd Sustainment Command, part of the Army’s ⁠global logistics and supply operation.

# Cricket: New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner has full faith in his team to deliver against South Africa in the T20 World Cup semifinal in Kolkata today. The Black Caps reached the final in 2021 but fell short against Australia, and failed to progress past the group stage in 2024, where the Proteas finished as runners-up. Santner says they are prepared to apply pressure on South Africa when it matters most:

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-40-cents and the euro at 19-rand-5-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-92-cents and Bitcoin trades at 71-thousand-346-dollars. Gold sells at five-thousand-169-dollars-54-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 82-dollars-24-cents a barrel.

# And finally: Technology start-up, Internet of Things Integration, has introduced a virtual fencing solution to help farmers manage the spread of foot-and-mouth disease. This comes amid the escalating spread of the disease and the ongoing national vaccination campaign. CEO Norman Parkin says the system uses GPS-enabled ear tags and solar-powered gateways to monitor animal movement and enable rapid on-farm quarantine. He says the solution allows real-time tracking, targeted isolation of infected animals and reduced labour costs. Parkin says a temperature-monitoring feature is expected within six-months.

Stay tuned for more news………….