News 08:00

BULLETIN 23 February 8 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Institute for Economic Justice is concerned about the draft amendments to the regulations of the Social Relief of Distress Grant
# The court hears the Rust armourer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed’s conduct was negligent
# And tennis, Gael Monfils becomes the oldest semifinalist in the Qatar Open’s history

# The Institute for Economic Justice says the draft amendments to the regulations governing the Covid-19 Social Relief of Distress grant will negatively harm beneficiaries. The amendments allow the Social Development Department to cancel approved applications when beneficiaries do not update personal and banking details within 90 days of being notified. The institute says while the grant has received another extension, its budget has been slashed from 44-billion-rand in 2022 to 33.6-billion-rand this year, meaning fewer people will receive it.

# The Public Servants Association denounces the recent upheaval at the State Information Technology Agency. The PSA is worried about governance problems affecting the agency’s stability after the High Court in Pretoria ruled removing the previous board unlawful. The association’s Claude Naiker expresses concerns about unprocedural appointments following key personnel’s sudden resignation and suspension. He urges Communications and Digital Technologies minister Mondli Gungubele to comply with the court order, reinstate the previous board, and address governance issues:

# The University of Pretoria has approached the courts seeking an order to restrict striking employees from disrupting teaching and learning. The institution has accused the protesters of intimidating students and denying them access to the Hatfield campus. The National Education, Health, and Allied Workers Union demands a seven-percent wage increase, but the university is offering four-percent. The intuition says it intends to implement ten measures, including restricting the strike to the demarcated area and preventing striking staff from intimidating non-striking employees.

# Opening statements in the trial of movie armourer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed relating to the fatal Rust shooting were heard in a US court yesterday. Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins died after a gun that actor Alec Baldwin was holding went off on the set of the movie in October 2021. Gutierrez-Reed has pleaded not guilty to charges of involuntary manslaughter and tampering with evidence. Special prosecutor Jason Lewis says Gutierrez-Reed’s conduct was unprofessional and sloppy:

# Tennis: Former champion Gael Monfils is through to the semifinals of the Qatar Open in Doha. The Frenchman defeated compatriot Ugo Humbert, 6-2, 6-4, to become the oldest semifinalist in the tournament’s history at 37-years-old. Monfils will face 18-year-old Jakub Mensik today for a place in the final. The Czech stunned Russia’s Andrey Rublev, 6-4, 7-6, to reach his maiden tour-level semifinal. In the other semifinal, Australia’s Alexei Popyrin will take on Russia’s Karen Khachanov.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 19-rand-15-cents and the euro at 20-rand-73-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-25-cents and Bitcoin trades at 51-thousand-50-dollars-84-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-25-dollars-26-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 83-dollars-29-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….