News 08:00

BULLETIN 11 February 8 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The families of the 17 men trapped in Russia ask Ramaphosa for help
# The City of Joburg says it’s not at Day Zero
# And cricket: The Proteas Women start the T20 series against Pakistan with a victory

# The families of the 17 South African men trapped in the Russia-Ukraine war have voiced their frustration over the slow progress to secure their safe return. The men were lured to Russia in July last year under the pretence of receiving bodyguard training. President Cyril Ramaphosa and Russian president Vladimir Putin have pledged their support for the process of returning the men to South Africa. Phumla Zuma, whose two sons are part of the recruited group, says the men are innocent:

# The Centre for Development and Enterprise says while the government of national unity is making some progress, the risk of destabilising policy changes in the medium and long term is real. The public policy think tank’s executive director, Ann Bernstein, says crime, corruption, government failure, infrastructure decay, and weak execution capacity continue to exist and undermine confidence. She says many reforms are vulnerable to delay, dilution, or reversal, whether now or if a new president is elected, while others depend on institutions that have yet to demonstrate consistent competence.

# The City of Johannesburg says the metro is not at Day Zero, maintaining that the water system remains under significant pressure but is stable. Day Zero refers to the critical moment when a city’s water supply reaches such low levels that authorities must drastically restrict access to water. Residents have been experiencing ongoing water shortages in the past few weeks. The metro’s spokesperson, Virgil James, says the water system is under pressure due to high demand, infrastructure constraints, and ongoing supply challenges:

# The White House has declined to say whether president Donald Trump had a call with the Palm Beach Police Department in 2006 about the late sex-trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. An FBI document released in the latest batch of Epstein files reveals that former Florida Police chief, Michael Reiter, stated that he received a call from Trump in which he told him that everyone knows about Epstein’s behaviour. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt says Trump has consistently denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein:

# Cricket: The Proteas Women defeated Pakistan by five wickets in the first T20 in Potchefstroom to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. Fatima Sana scored 90 to propel the visitors to 180 for nine. In reply, South Africa produced their highest successful run chase in T20s as Laura Wolvaardt scored 61 and debutant Kayla Reyneke smashed an unbeaten 29, including the winning runs in the final over to secure victory for the homeside. The series forms part of South Africa’s build-up to the Women’s T20 World Cup in England.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 15-rand-90-cents and the euro at 18-rand-93-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-72-cents, and Bitcoin trades at 68-thousand-69-dollars. Gold sells at five-thousand-48-dollars-41-cents a fine ounce, and Brent crude oil is quoted at 68-dollars-90-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….