News 12:00

BULLETIN 6 February 12 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Police are investigating a possible syndicate seeking to silence Madlanga Commission witnesses
# The IEC ramps up election readiness with an online voter registration campaign
# And soccer: Bafana Bafana will play Panama in two international friendlies as part of their World Cup preparation

# Police are investigating a possible syndicate seeking to silence witnesses before the Madlanga Commission. This follows an attempted hit on Wiandré Pretorius in Boksburg yesterday. He was implicated in testimony by the late Witness D, Marius van der Merwe. This comes two months after the killing of Van der Merwe. Gauteng Police Commissioner Tommy Mthombeni says they are willing to provide witness protection for any witness appearing before the commission:

# The Electoral Commission will embark on an online voter registration campaign, marking a key milestone in preparations for the local government elections. The online portal, a self-service voter registration system, was introduced in 2021. IEC deputy head of communication, David Mandaha, says this year alone, the portal recorded over 26-thousand newly registered voters:

# City Power in Johannesburg says a fire erupted at the Bree substation in the early hours of this morning, leaving several areas without electricity. This is the second electricity-related fire in the metro this week after a transformer caught fire on Monday. City Power’s Isaac Mangena says safety measures are in place and teams are working to restore electricity to the affected areas:

Moving abroad:

# Iranian Foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, says they are entering today’s talks with the US with open eyes and a steady memory of the past year. The meeting in Oman comes amid weeks of escalating tensions and fears of a military confrontation. Araghchi leads the Iranian delegation, while the US will be represented by president Donald Trump’s advisers, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. Araghchi says they are ready for fair and equitable talks, but their missile programme will never be the subject of any negotiations.

# Soccer: Bafana Bafana will face Panama in two international friendlies in South Africa next month as part of their preparations for the World Cup. Governing body SAFA says Panama offers a competitive, physical, and tactically disciplined test that aligns closely with the level Bafana Bafana will face at the World Cup. Hugo Broos’s charges have been drawn in Group A alongside Mexico, South Korea, and the winner of UEFA Playoff D, either the Czech Republic, Ireland, Denmark, or North Macedonia.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-16-cents and the euro at 19-rand-5-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-92-cents and Bitcoin trades at 64-thousand-743-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-870-dollars-24-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 67-dollars-96-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….