News 15:00

BULLETIN 11 March 3 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# A parliamentary committee urges transparency in the ArcelorMittal closure talks
# The EFF says no to a smaller VAT increase
# And rugby: The British and Irish Lions’ touring squad will be announced on 8 May

# Parliament’s select committee on Economic Development and Trade has called for transparency from government regarding ongoing discussions with ArcelorMittal South Africa on its long steel production wind-down. Committee chairperson Sonja Boshoff emphasises the three-thousand-500 jobs at risk in the planned shutdown in Newcastle and Vereeniging, will impact workers and small businesses dependent on the company. She demands a full report from the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition.

# The EFF says it rejects a proposed smaller VAT increase and the suggestion of cutting the social relief of distress grant as alternative to keep the grant going. EFF spokesperson Thembi Msane says South African Revenue Service commissioner, Edward Kieswetter has advised that 800-billion-rand can be recovered if the National Treasury invests in improving tax collection capacity. She says this is much more than the 58-billion-rand that would come from a VAT hike:

# Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Jordan have condemned Israel’s decision to cut electricity supply to the war-battered Gaza Strip, calling in separate statements for the international community to take action. Israel announced on Sunday it was disconnecting the only power line to a water desalination plant in Gaza, in an effort to pressure Palestinian militant group Hamas into releasing hostages amid an apparent impasse in truce talks. A Qatari Foreign ministry statement says Israel’s actions are a blatant violation of international humanitarian law.

# Rugby: The British and Irish Lions’ squad for the tour of Australia will be announced in London early in May. The tourists will play three Tests against the Wallabies and another six matches from 28 June until 2 August. The Lions beat Australia 2-1 during their previous visit in 2013, followed by a shared series against the All Blacks in 2017, and a 2-1 loss to the Springboks in 2021. The tourists take turns to visit one of the three Southern hemisphere countries every four years since 1888.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-26-cents and the euro at 19-rand-88-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-60-cents and Bitcoin trades at 81-thousand-787-dollars. Gold sells at two-thousand-912-dollars-64-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 69-dollars-79-cents a barrel.

# And finally: The Ungasali Annual Storytelling Festival in Pretoria has extended participation for this year to G20 countries. The theme is Youth Echoes: Shaping Global Futures Through Stories. The festival, which blends traditional and contemporary storytelling with live music and theatre, will be held at Freedom Park on Saturday. Park CEO Jane Mufamadi told the SABC the festival is significant in promoting heritage and social cohesion:

Stay tuned for more news………….