News 16:00

BULLETIN 17 February 4 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The City of Tshwane warns of Level 2 water restrictions
# The South African National Christian Forum calls on minister Enoch Godongwana to increase social grants
# And soccer: Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham could face a 12-match ban after arguing with the referee

# The City of Tshwane is urging residents to use water sparingly as extreme consumption levels may lead to Level 2 water restrictions. Rand Water has reported declining reserve levels, with Tshwane exceeding its daily consumption threshold. The city warns that if usage is not reduced, water rationing and increased tariffs could follow. High-consuming reservoirs include Akasia Park, Koedoesnek, The Reeds, and Wonderboom. The city urges residents to conserve water to prevent further shortages.

The DA meanwhile wants Gauteng’s water entities and its municipal leaders to appear before Parliament and account for the failures that have led to mass water shut-offs across large parts of the province. Rand Water’s reservoir levels dropped by almost 35-percent in the last month. The DA’s Stephen Moore says the province is facing a combination of challenges including failing bulk infrastructure, billing and payment issues, and no modernisation of water treatment and supply systems:

# The South African National Christian Forum is urging Finance minister Enoch Godongwana to increase social grants at a minimum to match the rising cost of living. The minister is set to deliver his budget speech on Wednesday. The forum’s president, Marothi Mashashane, says the starting point for the minister should be helping the poor, and working to address the economic and social factors that contribute to poverty and inequality:

# Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky believes more than 46-thousand of the country’s soldiers have now died during its war with Russia. During an interview with NBC, Zelensky indicated tens of thousands more are missing in action or in captivity. Ukraine has often been reluctant to provide casualty figures over fears they could demoralise the country. His comments followed a claim from US presdident Donald Trump that 400-thousand Ukrainian soldiers had lost their lives. The British Defence ministry said last month almost 800-thousand Russian soldiers have been killed or injured.

# Soccer: Real Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham could face a ban of up to 12 weeks after his red card during the weekend’s La Liga match against Osasuna in Pamplona, Spain. He was shown a straight red card for arguing with the referee in what was reportedly an x-rated rant. The English player apologised after initially denying he insulted the referee, describing the incident as a misunderstanding. The match ended in a one-all draw. Madrid still tops the log, with Osasuna in ninth place.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-41-cents and the euro at 19-rand-30-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-21-cents and Bitcoin trades at 96-thousand-306-dollars. Gold sells at two-thousand-896-dollars-96-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 74-dollars-30-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….