News 14:00

BULLETIN 27 February 2 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Geordin Hill-Lewis urges the DA to win the trust of new voters for party growth
# Discovery Bank turns to a profit in its half-year trading update
# And cricket: Southee has mixed feelings over England’s T20 World Cup match against New Zealand

# Cape Town mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis has urged the DA to close the gap between the party and millions of South Africans who have never voted for it. He announced his leadership bid and said many acknowledge the DA governs well, but feel disconnected. Hill-Lewis admits the party can seem distant and overly critical. He calls for rebuilding trust through listening, engaging communities, and earning support nationwide:

Hill-Lewis also announced a reward of up to 100-thousand-rand for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of those responsible for ongoing taxi-related violence in Atlantis, Cape Town. This follows the killing of a 14-year-old learner and a taxi driver outside the Atlantis Secondary School. The city’s Safety and Security Investigations Unit has been deployed to support the investigation, while amendments to the traffic by-law are being finalised to tackle illegal taxi operations.

# Discovery Bank swung out of the red in the six months to December, reporting a profit of between 210-million-and 230-million-rand compared with a loss of 145-million-rand in the prior period. The group’s share price firmed to a 52-week high as investors reacted positively. The group says its Vitality Shared-value model had a significant impact across both its local and global businesses. The bank saw performance ahead of plan, acquiring an average of one-thousand-500 customers per day by the end of the reporting period.

Moving abroad:

# UK prime minister Keir Starmer’s Labour Party has suffered a serious blow when the Green Party’s Hannah Spencer won the Gorton and Denton by-election, with Labour in third place behind Reform UK. Starmer previously faced calls to resign over his decision to appoint Peter Mandelson as ambassador to Washington, despite his links to late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Labour deputy leader Lucy Powell told Sky News Starmer is going nowhere:

# Cricket: England’s bowling consultant, Tim Southee, has mixed feelings over today’s T20 World Cup Super Eight match against his native New Zealand, saying it would be strange to be in the other change room. The 37-year-old former bowler played for his country from 2008 until 2024. Southee says it’s a great opportunity to work with England, who had already qualified for the semifinal, while the Blacks Caps need a victory to advance:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 15-rand-91-cents and the euro at 18-rand-78-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-45-cents and Bitcoin trades at 66-thousand-749-dollars. Gold sells at five-thousand-175-dollars-85-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 71-dollars-77-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….