News 11:00

BULLETIN 26 February 11 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# AfriForum and Solidarity meet with the Trump administration
# Eskom’s CEO says valuable lessons were learned from the latest round of loadshedding
# And rugby: Dewi Lake returns to Wales for the Six Nations

# A delegation from AfriForum and Solidarity met with representatives from the Trump administration at the White House in Washington. The organisations urged the US to put pressure on the South African government regarding farm murders, the Expropriation Act, and the Basic Education Laws Amendment Act. Solidarity’s Jaco Kleynhans says government’s lack of urgency to restore diplomatic relations with America is creating a growing crisis for South Africa:

# Eskom CEO, Dan Marokane, says they remain focused on eliminating load-shedding as a structural constraint on the economy. Stage six load-shedding was implemented over the past weekend due to the loss of ten units at key power stations. Load-shedding has now been suspended following the successful recovery of generation capacity. Marokane says there will be valuable lessons to be learned from the set of multiple unit trips that were unconnected and purely technical. He adds they are dedicated to ensuring a reliable power supply.

# The DA in the City of Ekurhuleni says it supports the IFP’s motion of no confidence in EFF council speaker Nthabiseng Tshivhenga. She is under fire due to her alleged failure to ensure council meetings remain free from political infighting and physical altercations. The DA’s Brandon Pretorius says recent allegations of malfeasance, graft, and potential fraud in Tshivhenga’s office, only add weight to the argument that she should be removed from office:

# African countries appointed three ex-leaders to oversee a push for peace in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo while an International Criminal Court prosecutor also arrived to investigate the upsurge in violence. Former Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta, ex-Ethiopian prime minister Hailemariam Desalegn and ex-Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo have been appointed facilitators of a new peace process. The Rwandan-backed M23 rebels have in recent weeks seized two major cities in eastern DRC, giving the group a major foothold in the region since taking up arms again in late 2021.

# Rugby: Hooker Dewi Lake was called into Wales’ squad ahead of their remaining Six Nations games against Scotland and England after recovering from a biceps injury. Lake, who captained Wales on tour to Australia last year, underwent surgery in December. His initial prognosis was up to 12 weeks on the sidelines after being injured in training. But the 25-year-old, who has won 18 caps, is ahead of schedule in his recovery. Wales had lost all three of their matches in this year’s competition so far.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-38-cents and the euro at 19-rand-30-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-27-cents and Bitcoin trades at 89-thousand-32-dollars. Gold sells at two-thousand-912-dollars-44-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 72-dollars-64-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….