News 16:00
BULLETIN 14 February 4 pm
Good afternoon. I am……..
In this bulletin:
# A fuel price shock is expected in March
# Eskom announces stage 3 load-shedding until further notice
# And Cricket: Ben Stokes will join England’s 100 Tests club tomorrow
# Figures from the Central Energy Fund show South Africans are in for a fuel price shock next month. Due to higher international oil prices the price of both 95- and 93-octane petrol is expected to jump by more than one-rand-30-cents a litre. The price of diesel is expected to increase by between one-rand-40- and one-rand-60-cents a litre. This will contribute further to higher inflation and keep food prices high. The weakening rand is a further blow to lower fuel prices.
# Eskom has announced stage 3 load-shedding will persist until further notice, with stage 4 being eliminated after the power utility successfully replenished its emergency reserves. According to Eskom, it is gradually bringing its generating units back into service. It reassures the public its power station managers are working tirelessly to restore more generating units to service and enhance the available capacity.
# The South African Local Government Association warns that killing politicians has become a profitable enterprise for hitmen in KwaZulu-Natal. The association addressed the media following the recent murder of Nongoma Local Municipality councillor Ndukwenhle Duma in uMtubatuba. Chairperson Thami Ntuli urges immediate action to address the situation where politicians have become easy targets. Ntuli warns of the danger to those exposing corruption at local government level, branding the rising political killings as a direct assault on the democratic system:
# Cricket: Captain Ben Stokes is set to become the 16th English player to appear in his 100th Test when they take on India in the third Test in Rajkot from tomorrow. The 32-year-old allrounder made his debut in the format against Australia in December 2013, and has since scored six-thousand-251 runs and took 197 wickets. Jimmy Anderson tops the list of most experienced English Test players with 184 games, followed by Stuart Broad with 167 and Alastair Cooke with 161.
# Financial indicators: The dollar trades at 19-rand-9-cents and the euro at 20-rand-44-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-97-cents and Bitcoin trades at 51-thousand-663-dollars-52-cents. Gold sells at one-thousand-990-dollars-66-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 82-dollars-98-cents a barrel.
# And finally: The City of Tshwane Emergency Services Department is alerting residents to the ongoing heat wave expected to last through the weekend. Deputy Chief Charles Mabaso emphasises the dangers of prolonged exposure to extreme heat, including dehydration, heat exhaustion, and potential heat stroke. Residents are urged to take precautions and remain vigilant, especially regarding the heightened risk of veld fires during this period:
Stay tuned for more news………….