News 12:00

BULLETIN 20 February 12 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Cape Town’s mayor hails the VAT hike opposition as a victory for the poor
# Soccer: United experiences a 12-percent decrease in revenue due to Ten Hag’s departure
# And Tyla becomes the first South Africa artist to grace the cover of British Vogue

# Cape Town mayor, Geordin Hill-Lewis, has welcomed the postponement of the national budget speech. The delay to next month was due to a dispute within the government of national unity over a proposed two-percent increase in value-added tax. Hill-Lewis says lower-income households in Cape Town and nationally cannot be burdened by a VAT hike that will skyrocket the cost of food and other essentials:

# Johannesburg mayor, Dada Morero, has expressed concern at reports of an alleged political plot against him. According to the Star newspaper, two mayoral committee members and a Rand Water official allegedly discussed strategies to shut down water flow for as long as possible. The mayor’s spokesperson, Chris Vondo, says the three allegedly suggested that the water cuts be orchestrated to portray the mayor as unfit to secure adequate water supply for residents.

# Australian authorities have euthanised about 90 false killer whales which survived a mass stranding on a remote beach in Tasmania. A team of experts at the site say complex conditions have made it impossible to save them. They were part of a pod of 157 whales that had beached near Arthur River, in the island’s north-west. The rest had died shortly after the stranding. False killer whales are technically one of the world’s largest dolphin species and can grow up to six-metres and weigh 1.5-tonnes.

# Soccer: Manchester United experienced a 12-percent decrease in revenue in the previous financial quarter, mainly attributed to the departure of manager Erik ten Hag. The English club had revenue of 4.6-billion-rand from October to December in comparison to 5.3-billion the year before. The dismissal of Ten Hag reportedly cost United 243-million-rand, while there was also a 42-percent decline in broadcast revenues. Commercial revenue did increase by 18.5-percent.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-50-cents and the euro at 19-rand-31-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-32-cents and Bitcoin trades at 96-thousand-879-dollars. Gold sells at two-thousand-954-dollars-69-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 75-dollars-86-cents a barrel.

# And finally: South African music sensation Tyla continues to make waves around the world, this time by featuring on the cover of British Vogue for the March 2025 issue. She is the first South African artist to grace the cover. The cover features the 23-year-old in a pink strapless bustier and black skirt, set against a bright blue backdrop. Tyla, who won a Grammy for her hit single Water and recently signed an endorsement deal with Nike, says she enjoyed the whole process:

Stay tuned for more news………….