News 11:00
BULLETIN 29 February 11 am
Good morning. I am……..
In this bulletin:
# Business Leadership South Africa says the new Transnet CEO is the right person for the job
# Doctors Without Borders warns of a global cholera vaccine shortage amid an African outbreak
# And tennis, the ATP Tour and Saudi Arabia sign a deal to grow the sport globally
# Business Leadership South Africa has welcomed the appointment of Michelle Phillips as the new Transnet CEO, saying she is the right person for the job. Phillips, who has been with the state-owned entity since 2001, has been acting CEO since October last year. Transnet reported a 1.6-billion-rand loss in the six months to September last year, on the back of declining rail, port and pipeline volumes. BLSA CEO, Busisiwe Mavuso, says Phillips understands that for the critical turnaround of the entity, government and Transnet cannot do it alone.
# Parliament’s portfolio committee on Police says it is concerned by the increase in contact crimes, especially the 2.1-percent increase in murder and the 13-percent in attempted murder. The committee was briefed on the third quarter crime statistics from October to December last year. Committee chairperson, Nocks Seabi, says while it welcomes the 2.7-percent decrease in sexual offences, it remains worried that the 15-thousand-284 cases reported remain high and require a focused approach to reduce this scourge.
# ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba will announce the party’s Gauteng premier candidate in Newtown, Johannesburg, today. Reportedly, the provincial chairperson, Funzi Ngobeni, is the favourite. ActionSA’s spokesperson, Malaika Ditabo, says Gauteng is the powerhouse province and will play an instrumental role in the upcoming elections:
# The international medical humanitarian organisation Doctors Without Borders says the global supply of cholera vaccines has been exhausted, with many African countries, including Zimbabwe, Zambia, Ethiopia, and Sudan, grappling with waterborne disease outbreaks. Existing doses in production are already allocated until mid-March, with demand continuing to grow. Save the Children notes a fourfold increase in cholera cases in Malawi, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique between 2022 and last year, reaching 95-thousand-300 with one-thousand-600 deaths. Public health experts urgently call on manufacturers to speed up vaccine production, in the face of ongoing cholera epidemics.
# Tennis: The ATP Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund have signed a five-year strategic partnership to accelerate the growth of the sport globally. The PIF will now become the official naming partner of the men’s rankings. It will also have on‑court branding at major ATP tournaments at Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid and Beijing, as well as the season-ending ATP Finals and Next Gen ATP Finals. ATP CEO, Massimo Calvelli, says this partnership will elevate the long‑term future of the sport:
# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 19-rand-23-cents and the euro at 20-rand-83-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-35-cents and Bitcoin trades at 63-thousand-194-dollars-88-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-and-36-dollars-27-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 82-dollars-1-cent a barrel.
Stay tuned for more news………….