News 09:00

BULLETIN 19 February 9 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# A political analyst believes the DA is far from being elected to national government on its own
# Minister Didiza will today present the findings of the land restitution evaluation study
# And, Oppenheimer dominates the Bafta Awards

# The failure of the DA to justify to voters that it deserves to be elected to national government on its own is an indictment of its leaders, members, and influential donors. This is according to political analyst, Mpumelelo Mkhabela. The party launched its election manifesto in Pretoria on Saturday. Leader John Steenhuisen believes that the possibility of the ANC falling below 50-percent provides an opportunity for a DA-dominated-and-led coalition to take over. In an opinion piece for News24, Mkhabela says the DA’s path to power hinges on coalition arrangements.

# Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, Thoko Didiza, will today present the findings of the land restitution evaluation study on financial compensation paid to beneficiaries. This forms part of the government’s Land Restitution Programme. The department’s spokesperson, Reggie Ngcobo, says the insights gleaned from this evaluation will inform policy formulation and programmatic interventions:

# KwaZulu-Natal Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs says disaster teams are providing relief after a thunderstorm left devastation in Nongoma over the weekend. Severe thunderstorms accompanied by heavy rain battered various areas of Nongoma, causing damage to houses and public infrastructure such as schools, community halls, churches, and Eskom power lines. The department’s spokesperson, Siboniso Mngadi, says 78 homes were damaged and over 600 people have been affected:

# Soccer: Manchester United defeated Luton Town two-one to stay in contention for a top-four finish in the Premier League, which will mean they qualify for the Champions League next season. A brace from striker, Rasmus Hojlund, helped the Red Devils leave Kenilworth Road with all three points. With the win, United have narrowed the gap on fifth-placed Tottenham to three points and five behind Aston Villa in fourth. Manager, Erik ten Hag, says they could have controlled the game more:

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-81-cents and the euro at 20-rand-36-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-83-cents and Bitcoin trades at 51-thousand-185-dollars-42-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-18-dollars-76-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 82-dollars-84-cents a barrel.

# And finally, Christopher Nolan’s atomic biopic Oppenheimer won seven BAFTA Film Awards including Best Film. Nolan, who has previously been nominated for eight Baftas, won best director, while Cillian Murphy won best actor for the film. Poor Things picked up five awards, including Best Actress for Emma Stone. Best Supporting Actress went to Da’Vine Joy Randolph for The Holdovers. 20 Days in Mariupol, a harrowing look at the first three weeks of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine through the eyes of the local reporters for the Associated Press, won best documentary.

Stay tuned for more news………….