News 15:00

BULLETIN 3 March 3 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# ActionSA pushes for the parliamentary vetting of cabinet appointments
# Cricket: New Zealand isn’t reading too much into its group phase loss to India
# And Captain America: Brave New World tops the North American box office for the third consecutive weekend

# ActionSA calls for parliamentary vetting of cabinet appointments to ensure greater accountability and transparency. The party proposes a constitutional amendment that would require Parliament to approve all cabinet appointments made by the president within a set timeframe. ActionSA’s Athol Trollip believes this step will help curb corruption and prevent the appointment of unsuitable candidates to key government positions:

# Public Service and Administration minister Inkosi Buthelezi says the G20 Anti-Corruption Working Group meeting aims to tackle corruption, which threatens development and public trust. Addressing the summit in Somerset West, Buthelezi reaffirmed South Africa’s commitment to fighting corruption through accountability and transparency, highlighting global cooperation in combating corruption and promoting ethical leadership. He urged G20 nations to strengthen their efforts in building resilient governance systems:

# The DA in Gauteng has raised concerns over the failure of all 37 public hospitals to meet occupational health and safety standards, with fire risks being the biggest threat. According to a provincial Health Department report 16 hospitals scored below 75-percent compliance, lacking essential fire prevention measures. Charlotte Maxeke Hospital, which suffered a major fire five years ago, is only 72-percent compliant. The DA urges better maintenance and corruption-free appointments to improve hospital safety.

# Cricket: New Zealand quick bowler Matt Henry says yesterday’s Champions Trophy group match loss to India in Dubai didn’t dent their confidence before Wednesday’s semifinal against South Africa in Lahore, Pakistan. He took five wickets to limit India to 249 for nine, but the Black Caps were then bowled out for just 205 – their first loss of the tournament. Henry says they don’t read much into the defeat since they had been playing good cricket throughout the tournament. India takes on Australia in tomorrow’s first semifinal in Dubai.           

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-65-cents and the euro at 19-rand-49-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-59-cents and Bitcoin trades at 92-thousand-576-dollars. Gold sells at two-thousand-872-dollars-69-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 72-dollars-81-cents a barrel.

# And finally: Captain America: Brave New World, starring Harrison Ford, Anthony Mackie, and Shira Haas, topped the North American box office for the third consecutive weekend. New release Last Breath, a film about deep-sea divers racing to save a stranded teammate, debuted at number two, with Neon Studio’s comedy-horror film The Monkey in third. Paddington in Peru and Dog Man wrapped up the top five. Mufasa: The Lion King is still in the top ten, coming in at number 6.

Stay tuned for more news………….