News 13:00
BULLETIN 20 March 1 pm
Good afternoon. I am……..
In this bulletin:
# Jacob Zuma’s attempt to remove prosecutor Billy Downer is dismissed again
# Government implements a 4.7-percent salary increment for public servants
# And Olympics: Russian and Belarusian athletes are excluded from the Paris Games’ opening ceremony
# The High Court in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal, has dismissed former president Jacob Zuma’s second bid to have prosecutor Billy Downer removed from the arms deal corruption case. Judge Nkosinathi Chili handed down the judgment, finding that Zuma failed to show that Downer’s continued role as a prosecutor would violate his right to a fair trial. Zuma’s legal counsel, Dali Mpofu, says they want to appeal the ruling:
# The minister for Public Service and Administration, Noxolo Kiviet, has announced the official implementation of a 4.7-percent salary increment for public servants in 2024, effective from 1 April. Kiviet says government has considered various factors to strike a balance between meeting the needs of public servants and delivering efficient services. She emphasises the increment reflects government’s commitment to fair compensation and the provision of quality public services.
# Interpol and Mozambican police joined efforts to locate missing KwaZulu-Natal skipper John Matambu, who vanished during a charter with an unknown man. Matambu’s burnt-out ski boat, Magnum Too, was discovered on a beach in Mozambique. News24 reports the investigation continues into the mysterious disappearance of Matambu and an unidentified passenger, who reportedly chartered the boat with a terminal illness claim. National Sea Rescue Institute spokesperson Craig Lambinon says the boat was expected to be returned to Sodwana Bay on Saturday afternoon:
# The Bank of Japan has raised the country’s key interest rate for the first time in 17 years; from minus 0.1-percent to a range of nil to 0.1-percent. The decision follows after salaries jumped on the back of rising consumer prices, and means no country in the world now have a negative interest rate. BBC News reports a negative rate forces consumers to pay to deposit money in a bank. Several countries have used this measure to encourage people to spend their money rather than keeping it in a bank.
# Sports news: The International Olympic Committee says Russian and Belarusian athletes will not be allowed to take part in the opening ceremony at the Paris Games. Athletes from both countries were banned from team sports following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine with Belarus’s aid. The decision follows that of the International Paralympic Committee, which also announced a ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes for its opening ceremony in August. The IOC expects about 36 neutral athletes with Russian passports and 22 with Belarusian passports to qualify for the Games.
# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-93-cents and the euro at 20-rand-53-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-4-cents and Bitcoin trades at 63-thousand-59-dollars-86-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-155-dollars-37-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 86-dollars-72-cents a barrel.
Stay tuned for more news………….