News 11:00

BULLETIN 21 February 11 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The African Transformation Movement says the confirmation of the election date gives political parties ample time to prepare
# Only ten-percent of Europeans believe Ukraine can still defeat Russia
# And rugby, the Springbok Women’s Sevens team is aiming for a better performance in Vancouver 

# The African Transformation Movement says it stands poised and prepared to assume the mantle of leadership, armed with a vision of unity, progress, and inclusive governance. President Cyril Ramaphosa has confirmed that the general elections will be held on the 29th of May this year. ATM’s spokesperson, Zama Ntshona, says the setting of the election date marks a significant milestone and provides ample time for political parties to prepare adequately for the electoral process:

# The Freedom Foundation says the National Treasury faces a triple problem of falling revenue, increased borrowing and debt, and higher spending, therefore Finance minister Enoch Godongwana must alter one or more of these variables. The minister is set to deliver the much-anticipated budget speech this afternoon. The foundation’s Leon Louw, says the single most important aspect of a budget is how much wealth it consumes:

The DA in Ekurhuleni revealed that 167 members of the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department have criminal records, uncovered through 2022’s audit. Despite laws prohibiting municipal police with criminal records to serve, none of these officials faced arrest or suspension. The DA advocates for immediate action, emphasising the need for compliant officials to ensure residents’ safety. The party believes Ekurhuleni’s credibility suffers under the ANC/EFF coalition, jeopardising trust in law enforcement.

# Nearly two years after the full-scale invasion, just ten-percent of Europeans now believe Ukraine can defeat Russia. This is according to a survey commissioned by the European Council on Foreign Relations. The survey found that only one in ten Europeans across the 12 countries surveyed believed Ukraine would win on the battlefield, while 20-percent predicted a Russian victory. In all countries, the polling showed, an average of 37-percent of respondents believed the war would end in a compromise settlement.

# Rugby: The Springbok Women’s Sevens team is aiming for a top-eight finish in the World Series to confirm their core status for next season. They managed one win in Dubai in the opening leg of the series, none in Cape Town and two in Perth last month. South Africa is in the same pool as Ireland, New Zealand and Brazil for the Vancouver leg of the series this weekend. Springbok Women’s Sevens player, Marlize de Bruin, says losing to Brazil seven-nil last month was hard to take:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-86-cents and the euro at 20-rand-40-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-82-cents and Bitcoin trades at 51-thousand-683-dollars-3-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-29-dollars-90-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 82-dollars-54-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….