News 13:00

BULLETIN 24 February 1 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# A special cabinet meeting will be held today to address the budget deadlock
# Rugby: England takes revenge for Scotland co-captain Finn Russell’s complacency a year ago
# And the SA Weather Service’s aviation website is back online following a cyber-attack 

# President Cyril Ramaphosa will convene a special cabinet meeting today to discuss the contentious budget. According to News24, Finance minister Enoch Godongwana is expected to present an alternative budget after disagreements within the government of national unity over the proposed two-percentage point VAT hike. The budget was postponed last week to 12 March due to the deadlock. The meeting aims to find a compromise amid concerns over revenue shortfalls and economic strain.

Meanwhile, the GOOD Party is calling on National Treasury to resist the temptation to throw out progressive provisions in the budget that weren’t with the two-percent VAT increase bathwater. GOOD’s secretary-general, Brett Herron, says commitments in the aborted budget to raise living standards and improve long-term economic prospects must be retained:

# The evacuation of wounded South African National Defence Force soldiers from the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo is set to begin this week. There are nearly 190 wounded and sick South African soldiers in the DRC, of whom at least five are seriously injured and two are pregnant. The soldiers were wounded while fighting the Rwandan-backed M23 rebels last month. Wounded soldiers from Tanzania and Malawi will also be evacuated, in an operation that will be led by the United Nations.

# Rugby: England’s Six Nations victory over Scotland at Twickenham this weekend could be seen as revenge for Scottish co-captain Finn Russell’s complacency of a year ago. Russell said after last year’s fourth consecutive victory over their old foes that it was just becoming a bit normal. But this year, England regained the Calcutta Cup by beating Scotland 16-15 after Russell missed three kicks at goal. The last one was in the dying minutes when he couldn’t convert winger Duhan van der Merwe’s try and snatch victory from defeat.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-38-cents and the euro at 19-rand-27-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-27-cents and Bitcoin trades at 95-thousand-739-dollars. Gold sells at two-thousand-943-dollars-92-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 73-dollars-94-cents a barrel.

# And finally: The SA Weather Service’s aviation website is back online after a cyber-attack in January affected the entity’s information and communication technology infrastructure. This enables the aviation industry to once again access critical services, including international significant weather charts, wind charts, domestic and international flight documentation and radar images. Spokesperson, Oupa Segalwe, says other products, such as domestic significant weather charts, and atmospheric pressure charts are undergoing functionality tests and will be available soon:

Stay tuned for more news………….