News 18:00

BULLETIN 26 February 6 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The ANC revamps its Gauteng leadership to strengthen party unity and renewal
# The DA urges an IPID probe into police’s handling of the Gwamanda fraud case
# And cricket: An Australian spinner’s suspect bowling action is cleared

# The ANC has announced a reconfigured leadership for Gauteng. The move is aimed at strengthening party structures and preparing for next year’s local government elections. The new provincial task team includes provincial convenor Amos Masondo, co-convenor Panyaza Lesufi, Ntombi Mekgwe, Hope Papo, Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko and Tasneem Motara. ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula told the media the new team has been tasked with tackling corruption, economic transformation, and community engagement:

# The DA urges the Independent Police Investigative Directorate to investigate police’s handling of the fraud case against former Johannesburg mayor Kabelo Gwamanda. The party claims victims of the fraud were pressured by investigating officials to settle the case out of court and were not informed of the case’s provisional withdrawal. The DA’s Belinda Kayser-Echeozonjoku believes this undermines the integrity of the criminal justice system:

# The UK government has announced that it would extend a policy allowing the use of foreign seasonal agricultural workers for another five years, seeking to improve damaged relations with farmers. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said in a statement the move will give farms a pipeline of workers and certainty to grow their businesses. Farmers are currently locked in a dispute with the government over plans to end an exemption for farms from inheritance tax rules.

# Cricket: Experts have cleared the bowling action of Australian left-arm spinner Matt Kuhnemann after it was reported during the second Test against Sri Lanka earlier this month. The match officials suspected his action was unlawful, and Kuhnemann had to undergo testing at the National Cricket Centre in Brisbane. The International Cricket Council says his suspension has now been lifted. Twenty-eight-year-old Kuhnemann has played nine Tests for Australia. He took 16 wickets in the two-Test series against Sri Lanka, which Australia won 2-nil.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-42-cents and the euro at 19-rand-32-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-32-cents and Bitcoin trades at 87-thousand-504-dollars. Gold sells at two-thousand-894-dollars-70-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 72-dollars-36-cents a barrel.

# And finally: Foodies in China have been flocking to the Erlong funeral home in the southwestern province of Guizhou after a noodle dish with minced pork and peanuts served at its canteen went viral on social media. The canteen caters to the funeral home’s customers, but as word began to spread about its noodles, hordes of diners, some posing as mourners, began showing up to try the food. The funeral home has since decided to offer 50 free bowls of noodles to members of the public every day.

Stay tuned for more news………….