News 07:00

BULLETIN 20 February 7 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Change Starts Now pledges to tackle unemployment, crime, and healthcare issues
# Premier Alan Winde says the Western Cape is set to become the first load-shedding-free province
# And, Palestine tells the International Court of Justice the genocide in Gaza is due to decades of impunity

# A new political movement, Change Starts Now, has vowed to tackle unemployment, fight crime, and ensure sufficient healthcare facilities for South Africans. Leader Roger Jardine made these promises ahead of the upcoming national elections. He says the party is committed to addressing the socio-economic challenges faced by communities. He also acknowledges the issues of high unemployment, inadequate housing, and limited access to essential services such as clean water, electricity, and sanitation that continue to plague communities:

# Financial sector institutions and regulators, including the Financial Intelligence Centre and the Reserve Bank, are collaborating to remove South Africa from the greylist. The Financial Action Task Force, responsible for combating money laundering and terrorism financing, deemed the country’s measures inadequate. Greylisting increases scrutiny on South Africa’s global financial transactions. National Treasury urged stakeholders to contribute to delisting efforts. Despite shared goals, however, tensions may arise between regulators and regulated entities as stricter regulations are implemented for restoration.

# Hawks head, Godfrey Lebeya, has issued a warning to criminals attacking police officials that the law will not have mercy on them. Twenty-two police officials were murdered in the third quarter of 2023/2024, 12 off duty and 10 on duty. A total of 12 arrests were effected. Lebeya says three accused persons were convicted and sentenced to share four life imprisonment and 38 years imprisonment terms. He adds that an attack on police officials is an attack on the state.

# Western Cape premier, Alan Winde, says load-shedding continues to severely hamper the province’s economic growth, exacerbating unemployment and impacting residents’ safety and dignity. He delivered the State of the Province address in Paarl yesterday evening. Winde says the province is estimated to have lost between 48.6-billion-rand and 61.2-billion-rand since load-shedding started. He says the Western Cape is well on its way to becoming the first load-shedding-free province in the country:

# The Palestinian foreign minister, Riyad al-Maliki, says the genocide underway in Gaza is a result of decades of impunity and inaction. The International Court of Justice yesterday started hearings on the legal consequences of Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories since 1967, with an unprecedented 52 countries expected to give evidence. A lawyer representing Palestine, Namira Negm, told the United Nations’ top court that Israel had committed many human rights violations:

# Tennis: South Africa has five players in the draw for the WIPHOLD International women’s tournaments, which gets underway in Pretoria today. The week-long tournament is one of two back-to-back International Tennis Federation W50 events, which are both offering prize money of 760-thousand-rand. The draw features 17 players who are ranked among the top 500 in the world. The South African contingent features four wildcard entries, Isabella Kruger, Zoë Kruger, Kaitlyn Ramduth, and Danielle Dai Chapman, while teenager, Lilitha Ndungane, progressed through the qualifying rounds.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-96-cents and the euro at 20-rand-42-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-87-cents and Bitcoin trades at 51-thousand-688-dollars-57-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-17-dollars-62-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 83-dollars-41-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….