News 15:00
BULLETIN 11 March 3 pm
Good afternoon. I am……..
In this bulletin:
# Eskom is confident in its efforts to reduce the intensity of load-shedding
# The ANC’s candidate list showcases diversity and an intergenerational mix
# And cricket: Australia clinches the Test series against New Zealand 2-nil
# Eskom has expressed confidence in its efforts to reduce the intensity of load-shedding in the near future. According to Electricity minister Kgosientsho Ramakgopa, much of the planned maintenance being done currently, is a move towards the eradication of the severity of power cuts. The minister says everything is on track and well in line with the Energy Action Plan:
# The ANC says it has implemented strict criteria to ensure the integrity and credibility of its candidates for the national and provincial elections. Candidates must not have any pending court cases or disciplinary hearings to allow them to focus fully on their responsibilities without distractions. Briefing the media, ANC secretary general Fikile Mbalula says the list encompasses diversity, inclusivity, and experienced individuals, selected through a rigorous and transparent process reflecting the party’s commitment to organisational renewal:
# First National Bank and the Bureau for Economic Research’s Building Confidence Index plummeted by 16-points to reach a level of 27 in the first quarter of 2024. This follows after hitting an eight-year high in the fourth quarter of 2023. It represents the joint lowest level since mid-2020. According to FNB, confidence dropped across various sub-sectors, with architects experiencing a significant decline. Main contractors and quantity surveyors saw marginal improvements but continued underperforming in the building sector amidst challenges such as insufficient demand and a shortage of skilled labour.
# Cricket: Australia clinched the Test series against New Zealand 2-nil with a nail-biting victory in the final match in Christchurch. The hosts overcame a bad first innings of just 162 to post 372 in their second innings. The visitors, who scored 256 in their first innings, needed 279 runs to win, and did so with just three wickets standing. Alex Carey contributed an undefeated 98 and Mitchell Marsh scored 80, while Ben Sears took four wickets. Australia won the first Test in Wellington by 172 runs.
# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-70-cents and the euro at 20-rand-47-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-4-cents and Bitcoin trades at 71-thousand-640-dollars-85-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-177-dollars-85-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 81-dollars-69-cents a barrel.
# And finally: The movie Oppenheimer had a glittering night at the Oscars but in Hiroshima, devastated by the first nuclear bomb in 1945, the film about the weapon’s creator is harder to stomach. The president of the Japanese city’s international film festival, Kyoko Heya, asked if this was really a movie that people in Hiroshima can bear to watch. Around 140-thousand people died in the city when the United States dropped an atomic bomb. Oppenheimer will finally be released in Japan on 29 March. Heya told AFP she had found the movie “very America-centric”.
Stay tuned for more news………….