News 11:00
BULLETIN 9 February 11 am
Good morning. I am……..
In this bulletin:
# A political analyst says the state of the nation address was an election stump speech
# Vladimir Putin accuses western countries of prolonging the war in Ukraine
# And cricket, Cape Town is ready for a thrilling end to the SA20 season
# Political analyst, Daniel Silke (Silk), says the state of the nation address was ultimately an election stump speech from a president whose term has lurched from mediocre to at worst miserable and damaging. Opposition parties have criticised president Cyril Ramaphosa’s speech saying it devoided reality and was a failed attempt to launch the ANC’s general election manifesto. Silke says Ramaphosa was forced to provide a historical defence of the ruling party’s record because the opportunity for tangible current successes have been squandered:
# Freedom Under Law is seeking to intervene in suspended Western Cape judge-president John Hlophe’s application to the Constitutional Court. He has approached the highest court asking it to set aside the decision of Parliament’s Justice committee recommending to the National Assembly that he be removed from judicial office. He also wants the court to direct Parliament to adopt rules for the impeachment of judges. Freedom Under Law says the purpose and effect of the relief Hlophe sought was to prevent judicial accountability.
# RISE Mzansi in KwaZulu-Natal has condemned the killing of another councillor in the province. An IFP councillor in the Nongoma Municipality and a learner were shot dead on Wednesday. The National Police Commissioner, Fannie Masemola, deployed the national task team responsible for investigating political killings to the area following the incident. RISE Mzansi’s, Nonkululeko Hlongwane-Mhlongo, says political killings have been an issue for years in the province:
# Russian president, Vladimir Putin, has accused the US and other western countries of prolonging the war in Ukraine. In a two-hour-long interview with controversial former Fox News host, Tucker Carlson, in Moscow, Putin emphasised that his country has a right to protect itself from threats to its national security. He claims that if America stops supplying weapons to Ukraine, the war will be over within weeks. This comes as yesterday the US Senate voted to advance the 1.8-trillion-rand foreign aid package, which provides assistance for Ukraine and Israel.
# Cricket: The City of Cape Town says it is ready to host the SA20 final at Newlands tomorrow. Defending champions the Sunrisers Eastern Cape will take on Durban’s Super Giants. Mayoral committee member for Safety and Security, JP Smith, says in front of around 17-thousand spectators, the final will draw to a close a 34-game tournament that has featured world-class cricket action in six different cities:
# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-92-cents and the euro at 20-rand-39-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-89-cents and Bitcoin trades at 46-thousand-257-dollars-37-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-and-33-dollars-44-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 81-dollars-51-cents a barrel.
Stay tuned for more news………….