News 16:00

BULLETIN 19 February 4 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The budget speech is postponed to March
# South Africa eyes a regional partnership as it revives the mega oil refinery plan
# And Olympic Games: Brisbane will announce the final plans for the 2032 Games next month

# National Assembly speaker Thoko Didiza has announced Finance minister Enoch Godongwana’s budget speech, initially set for today, has been postponed to an unconfirmed date in March. The delay comes amid disagreements within the government of national unity over proposed tax increases, including a potential two-percent VAT hike. Briefing members of Parliament, Didiza said the budget presentation will take place once consensus is reached:

# South Africa is reaffirming plans for a mega oil refinery despite the global shift to renewable energy. Mineral and Petroleum Resources deputy director-general Tseliso Maqubela told Parliament that fuel security is at risk following domestic refinery closures. Maqubela says government plans include reviving the Sapref refinery with a regional oil partner, finalising the Petroleum Sector Masterplan, increasing storage, and developing fuel terminals at Island View in Durban and the port of Ngqura. He calls for urgent action to secure the country’s fuel supply.

# Political analyst Kenneth Mokgathle says the recent African Union summit has not come up with any solution or intervention for the countries that are facing conflicts. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, the M23 rebels took over the cities of Goma and Bukavu and many people were killed during the clashes. Mokgathle says there is also a crisis in Sudan that continues to kill, injure and displace millions of people:

# A new UK law will make it harder for young people to purchase knives online. The government announced the stricter regulation follows several fatal knife crimes involving young people, including last year’s murder of three girls by teenager Axel Rudakubana, who was able to purchase the blade he used on Amazon, bypassing age verification rules. The new law will require retailers to report suspicious and bulk blade purchases to authorities, as well as bolster age verification checks. Retailers who sell knives to under-18s can be jailed for up to two years.

# Olympic Games: Brisbane in Australia, who will host the Games in 2032, will announce next month where the main stadium will be. Political rows caused continuing uncertainty over the final plans, leading to Queensland’s premier, David Crisafulli, appointing a panel to conduct a second review of the options. Its findings and government’s response will be made public on the 25th of March. Crisafulli’s predecessor, Steven Miles, earlier rejected a revamp of the Gabba cricket ground and a proposed new stadium in Victoria Park.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-48-cents and the euro at 19-rand-28-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-26-cents and Bitcoin trades at 96-thousand-315-dollars. Gold sells at two-thousand-933-dollars-57-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 76-dollars-12-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….