Parliament Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula and National Council of Provinces chairperson Amos Masondo have confirmed that they received a letter from the head of state that thousands of soldiers have been deployed across the country before the shutdown.

The government has taken a step of sending soldiers to various parts of the country to avoid any damage to infrastructure and other key installations.

Parliament said President Cyril Ramaphosa told the two presiding officers that more than 3 400 soldiers had been deployed from this weekend until April 17.

When riots happened in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng the government sent in soldiers.

The government is expected to spend over R166 million for the deployment of the army for the period set out by the president.

Ramaphosa's deployment of the army was to ensure that citizens were protected against any violence after threats were made, Vincent Magwenya, the president's spokesperson, said.

"The correspondence to the presiding officers, dated March 17, indicated that 3 474 members of the SANDF have been deployed, effective from March 17 to April 17. The employment is in line with section 201(2) of the Constitution and section 19 of the Defence Act. An amount of R166 562 058 is expected to be incurred for this deployment," said Parliament.

Putin's trip to Donbass was 'spontaneous'

The Russian president made an unplanned stop in Mariupol where he met with locals and checked on the restoration of the city

Russian President Vladimir Putin's surprise visit to the Donbass region was largely "spontaneous" and effectively turned into a full-fledged "working trip," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov revealed on Sunday.

The overnight trip was the first time Putin has visited Donbass since it broke away from Ukraine in 2014. it was eventually incorporated into Russia following referendums last year.

During Putin's stay in the city of Mariupol, he met locals and visited flats in a newly constructed residential building. The city was the scene of intense fighting early in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and ended up being heavily damaged in the process.

"Initially, the plan was only to visit this residential complex, and, of course, neither meeting the citizens, nor paying them a visit [in their homes] was planned. It was all entirely spontaneous," Peskov told reporters.

The visit turned into a "full-fledged working trip" for the president, Peskov continued, as Putin was briefed by Deputy PM Marat Khusnullin, who accompanied him during the visit, on the restoration process ongoing in the city. In particular, the Russian leader was told about "the development of the urban economy, roads, the restoration of destroyed buildings, how many people are working, how working conditions are provided, how building materials are delivered," the spokesman explained.

After his Mariupol visit, Putin proceeded to the city of Rostov-on-Don, where he met with Russia's top military brass at a command-and-control center in charge of the military operation in Ukraine.

The visit to the command post had not been planned in advance either, Peskov said, adding that the president's arrival was not an issue given that the facility operates around the clock.

"Neither the presidential administration, nor the Ministry of Defense planned it in advance," the spokesman stated. During the trip, Putin "heard reports" from a number of top military commanders, including from the chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov and also gave his own "assessments of the situation," Peskov added.

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Former US President Donald Trump has warned that he will be "arrested on Tuesday," in an all-caps post on his Truth Social platform on Saturday, crediting "illegal leaks from a corrupt & highly political Manhattan district attorney's office" for his advance knowledge.

Trump predicted:

"With no crime able to be proven, & based on an old & fully debunked (by numerous other prosecutors) fairytale, the far & away leading Republican candidate & former president of the United States of America, will be arrested on Tuesday of next week."

When reached for comment by Fox News on Friday, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office would neither confirm nor deny whether he was planning to issue an indictment on campaign finance violations for then-candidate Trump's alleged payment of hush money to porn actress Stormy Daniels in 2016.

Trump was invited to testify before a grand jury earlier this month regarding the Stormy Daniels scandal, a move many interpreted as a prelude to an indictment. If so, he would be the first former US president to be criminally indicted, an eventually for which several law enforcement agencies are reportedly discussing "security preparations."

Trump's attorney, Joe Tacopino, excoriated prosecutors for having "completely weaponized" the legal system, pointing out that the crime as alleged - falsifying records - was a misdemeanor and only becomes a felony if prosecutors can prove it was done intentionally and maliciously.

Tacopino added that Trump cannot be prosecuted in the state of New York for a federal election charge, and since Trump's personal funds were used to pay the porn actress, the payment was not a campaign expense at all.

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