Jacaranda FM Newswatch @ 08H03

0:00In your sport, rugby that rocks resumes is on to round three of the varsity cup, and Marco Bessicci wins the MotoGP season opener in Thailand. We start with the international story that has the whole world pausing. It's day three of Operation Epic Fury, the US and Israeli attacks on Iran, retaliatory attacks across the region have caused emergencies and the closure of airspace over several Middle Eastern countries. In Victoria, the Department of International Relations says it cannot evacuate South Africans from Gulf nations because flights are grounded. So far we've not lost anybody, the South Africans that we know of are all accounted for in space. So we are monitoring the situation to see what developed, but the challenge is that unfortunately

1:04it's not possible to move people out of this space because there is no means to that. Spokesperson for the Department close in one year last says they don't have an exact figure of how many South Africans are in the region and they are relying on those who have registered with authorities. Such South African is living in Dubai, Natasha Nadu, who runs a recruitment business and has been living in the UAE with her husband and daughter for the past three years. While we have been receiving emergency alerts and there has been reports of missile interceptions in the region, daily life continues as normal and authorities are visibly prepared. Security presence is strong and communication from officials has been clear. Like many expats, we closely monitor airline updates and official advisories. The airport's company has urged travelers who are duched apart from South African airports to the Middle East and the UAE not to go to the airport until they have confirmed the status of their flight. Emirates and Qatar Airways flights have been suspended.

2:07It runs Security Council declared this morning that it will not negotiate with America and they have denied reports that Iranian officials have asked for talks with US President Donald Trump that stay three of the conflict, of the conflict that started with loud explosions over Doha, the capital of Qatar. Earlier this morning, Trump said in a new video message that the operation will continue in full force until all of the objectives have been achieved. The only reason we enjoy the quality of life that we do and the freedom and security is we have warriors who are willing to lay down their lives to do battle with our enemies. In other news, back in South Africa, confirmation that the heartrain will officially be transferred to the hearting government as a state asset by the end of this month. The announcement was made yesterday during the hearting state of a finance address by MEC for Finance and Economic Development, Lebanon, Mahile. He said 26 billion rent was spent on building the heartrain and it is now valued at between

3:1045 billion and 53 billion rent. We will, I think, by the end of March through the premiere, announce the preferred bidder for the new concession that will last for the next few years. And speaking of transport and driving up and down hearting roads, it may be raining and it may be a great start to the weekend but there is nothing blue about this Monday for Jerome Govinda from a grant. He just won a brand new Kia Sonnet SUV at the conclusion of Jack Aranda FM's Kia or the Cash. More about this and other stories on our website.