News 06:00

BULLETIN 23 February 6 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Raymond Parsons welcomes the US Supreme Court’s ruling on Trump’s tariffs
# An armed man is shot dead at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence
# And cricket: South Africa seal a commanding victory against India in the T20 World Cup Super-8 stage

# North-West University economist Raymond Parsons has welcomed the decision by the US Supreme Court that president Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs are illegal. He says this is good news for many countries, including South Africa, who have had to grapple with an aggressive US tariff policy in recent times. Trump has now imposed a new broad tariff of 15-percent, within a day of a previously announced tariff of 10-percent for a period of 150 days, pending Congressional approval:

# The DA has welcomed the arrival of one-million vaccine doses to combat the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak in the country. Spokesperson Jan de Villiers says this marks an important step towards stabilising South Africa’s agricultural biosecurity and protecting the livelihoods of farmers, workers and rural communities. He says farmers, transporters, auctions and feedlots must comply fully with biosecurity measures, including movement controls, sanitation protocols and proper record-keeping:

# Parliament’s joint standing committee on Defence is concerned about the effectiveness of the National Conventional Arms Control Committee, and the functionality of the Directorate for Conventional Arms Control. This relates to facilitating a conducive regulatory environment for the armaments trade industry. The committee says inefficiencies within the committee and directorate have had a direct and adverse impact on companies, including increased export and import losses, missed delivery deadlines, reputational damage, and job losses. The standing committee has resolved to urgently invite both to appear before it next month.

# The South African Communist Party has conveyed a message of solidarity to workers affected by the mudslide that left five mineworkers trapped since Tuesday at Ekapa in Kimberley, Northern Cape. SACP spokesperson, Mbulelo Mandlana, says while the cause of the accident has been blamed on an unexpected mudslide, the SACP calls for a comprehensive investigation into the matter. He says it must be investigated whether risk assessments, early-warning systems, and emergency preparedness protocols were in place and fully implemented.

# US Secret Service agents shot and killed an armed man on Sunday, after he unlawfully entered the secure perimeter at president Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida. The president was at the White House at the time of the incident. Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw says Secret Service observed the man, who was in his early 20s, by the north gate of the property carrying what appeared to be a shotgun and a fuel can:

# Cricket: South Africa thrashed defending champions India by 76 runs in their opening match of the Super Eight phase of the T20 World Cup in Ahmedabad. The Proteas recovered from 20 for three after four overs, with the help of David Miller’s 63, as they posted 187 for seven in their 20 overs. In reply, India slipped to 51 for five by the tenth over. Marco Jansen took four wickets as India were bowled out for 111. South Africa will face the West Indies on Wednesday.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-3-cents and the euro at 18-rand-91-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-63-cents and Bitcoin trades at 67-thousand-702-dollars. Gold sells at five-thousand-108-dollars-36-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 71-dollars-11-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….