News 09:00

BULLETIN 3 February 9 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Trump is cutting off all future US funding to South Africa pending a probe into land expropriation
# Over two-thousand firearms were seized during the festive season
# And UNICEF reiterates a call for the protection of the children in Ukraine

# US president Donald Trump says he is cutting off all future funding to South Africa until a full investigation into the country’s land expropriation policies has been completed. This comes after president Cyril Ramaphosa signed the Expropriation Act into law last month. The law stipulates that the government may, in certain circumstances, offer no compensation for property it decides to expropriate in the public interest. Trump says the law is a massive human rights violation, at a minimum:

# National Police Commissioner, Fannie Masemola, says two-thousand-198 illegal, and unlicensed firearms were seized and confiscated during festive season operations. The safer festive season operations commenced on the eleventh of October 2024 and ended on the 31st of January this year. The firearms seized include one-731 handguns, 154 homemade guns, 211 rifles, and 102 shotguns. Masemola says the majority of firearms seized were confiscated in Kwazulu-Natal, Gauteng, Eastern Cape and the Western Cape:

# ActionSA in KwaZulu-Natal says it is outraged by the ongoing shortage of essential medication in government hospitals and clinics, a crisis that puts thousands of lives at risk. This comes as the Department of Health has allegedly informed healthcare facilities that, due to budget constraints, medication will only be replenished in April. ActionSA’s, Zwakele Mncwango, says Health MEC, Nomagugu Simelane, must take full accountability and immediately provide the public with the truth about this crisis:

# The United Nations Children’s Fund has expressed alarm over relentless attacks on populated areas in Ukraine and their devastating impact on children. In Poltava, a missile strike on a residential building reportedly injured three children, while at least four others were wounded in Kramatorsk, Sumy, and Synelnykove. In the first two weeks of January alone, over one-thousand-600 people, including children, fled their homes in Donetsk and Kharkiv. UNICEF has emphasised the need for sustained peace, one in which children can recover from war, regain their education and rebuild their futures.

# Cricket: SA20 table-toppers MI Cape Town recorded a comprehensive 95-run bonus-point victory over the Pretoria Capitals in the final league phase match at Newlands. Sediqullah Atal scored 74 and shared a 133-run opening stand with Connor Esterhuizen, as MI Cape Town posted 201 for five. In reply, making his SA20 debut, spinner Dane Piedt, and Thomas Kaber took three wickets each as the Pretoria Capitals were bundled out for 106. MI Cape Town will face Paarl Royals in Qualifier 1 at St George’s Park on Tuesday.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 19-rand-1-cents and the euro at 19-rand-43-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-30-cents and Bitcoin trades at 93-thousand-646-dollars. Gold sells at two-thousand-779-dollars-81-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 76-dollars-5-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….