News 17:00

BULLETIN 8 February 5 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Parliament welcomes the High Court’s decision on EFF members’ suspension 
# The Metrorail Western Cape train service is partially restored following vandalism 
# And Cricket: It’s sink or swim for the Proteas in New Zealand 

# Parliament welcomes the decision of the Western Cape High Court to dismiss the application of six EFF Members of Parliament seeking to overturn their temporary suspension. The court’s ruling pertained to last year’s state of the nation address, where EFF leader Julius Malema, deputy president Floyd Shivambu and four other members disregarded speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula’s directive to vacate the chamber after they stormed the stage. Parliament characterised the EFF’s legal challenge as an abuse of process. It reaffirms its commitment to maintaining order during significant events.

Meanwhile, the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry is calling on president Cyril Ramaphosa to prioritise government efficiency in the state of the nation address. Sacci CEO, Alan Mukoki, emphasises the need for the president to address key issues. He names these as improving the weak economy, eradicating load-shedding, reducing unemployment, and enhancing national ports for smoother import and export processes:

# Metrorail in the Western Cape says train services have been partially reinstated following severe disruptions caused by vandalism between Bellville and Tygerberg stations. Operational lines now include the Cape Flats Line, Cape Town to Heathfield via Athlone and Southern Line, Cape Town to Fish Hoek via Wynberg. Efforts are underway to restore the Central Line. Spokesperson Zinobulali Mihi says dedicated technicians have been working around the clock to recover the affected areas:

# Scotland’s Health secretary, Michael Matheson, has resigned over a scandal involving his iPad bill of almost 260-thousand-rand. He took the device with him on a family holiday to Morocco late in 2022, and racked up the huge amount in roaming charges. Matheson paid the money back after initially claiming he did constituency work during the trip, while it later emerged his sons used the iPad to watch soccer. An investigation was launched in November last year, but the findings are still outstanding.

# Cricket: An inexperienced Proteas Test squad will have to learn quickly from their opening game defeat to New Zealand. A South African side with six debutants were outplayed by the Black Caps and beaten by 281 runs. The second and final Test starts in Hamilton on Tuesday. Coach Shukri Conrad say the Proteas will have to adapt quickly: 

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-96-cents and the euro at 20-rand-39-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-89-cents and Bitcoin trades at 44-thousand-709-dollars-46-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-and-23-dollars-49-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 80-dollars-33-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….