News 12:00

BULLETIN 23 February 12 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# RISE Mzansi is more than ready to be on all ballots with over 100-thousand signatures 
# Nersa registers 124 generation facilities
# And Rugby: Scotland’s coach stresses the importance of the game against England

# RISE Mzansi says it has proudly and successfully uploaded 112-thousand-and-18 signatures to the Electoral Commission’s portal. This is enough to ensure the party can contest in all nine provinces as well as the national ballot in the elections. RISE Mansi spokesperson Boitumelo Mpakanyane says despite the political establishment mounting numerous hurdles for unrepresented political parties, today the party confirmed it is in the ring to contest every possible seat on 29 May:

# The National Energy Regulator of South Africa has announced the registration of 124 generation facilities, totalling 605 megawatts, in the third quarter of the 2023/24 financial year. The highest number of new registered generation facilities are in the Western Cape, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, and the Eastern Cape. Nersa’s Charles Hlebela, says solar photovoltaic technology dominates with 122 facilities, contributing 604 megawatts and an investment of 7.75-billion-rand:

# The US is set to impose sanctions on more than 500 Russian targets today, making this the largest set of sanctions since Moscow invaded Ukraine two years ago. US national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, says the new measures will cover a wide range of elements linked to the Russian defence industrial base, and sources of revenue for the country’s economy that power its war machine. Sullivan has described the package as another turn of the crank to hold Moscow accountable for the war.

# Rugby: Scotland coach, Gregor Townsend, says tomorrow’s game against England is their most important one of the season. He has made three changes for the round three match of the Six Nations at Murrayfield. Blair Kinghorn, Kyle Steyn and Jamie Ritchie have all been recalled. Scotland is targeting a fourth successive victory over England for the first time in 52 years. Townsend says playing against their biggest rival at home is something special:

# Financial indicators: The dollar trades at 19-rand-24-cents and the euro at 20-rand-83-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-38-cents and Bitcoin trades at 50-thousand-954-dollars-80-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-and-20-dollars-29-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 83-dollars-3-cents a barrel.

# And finally: A study by the Institute for Security Studies revealed Africa as a hotspot for drug smuggling, piracy, and illegal fishing, caused by poverty and corruption. South Africa particularly stands out as a destination for criminal activities, ranking seventh globally and third for cocaine trade on the continent. Collaboration among Brics countries is urged to combat illicit activities originating from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran, especially along the Indian Ocean maritime routes.

Stay tuned for more news………….