News 18:00

BULLETIN 26 February 6 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# South Africa aims to exit the Financial Action Task Force’s grey list by June 2025
# The IEC confirms the MK party registration dispute is before the court 
# And Motorsport: The Formula One season kicks off in Bahrain after impressive trials 

# National Treasury deputy director-general Ismail Momoniat says there’s optimism that South Africa could be removed from the Financial Action Task Force’s grey list by June next year. This stems from the organisation’s recent plenary meeting in Paris, where the country’s progress was assessed. South Africa was placed on the grey list last year due to non-compliance with international standards on anti-money laundering and terrorism financing. The global financial watchdog stipulates South Africa must complete 17 of the 22 required actions to secure its exit from the grey list.

# The Independent Electoral Commission has confirmed the registration of the uMkhonto weSizwe party is currently under review by the Electoral Court. The ANC is challenging the registration, seeking to have it set aside and declared unlawful. The ruling party is also involved in a trademark dispute with the MK party over logo similarities. The IEC’s deputy chairperson, Janet Love, says the commission can only proceed based on existing documentation and legislation:

# Rise Mzansi, along with hundreds of unemployed healthcare workers, marched to the Union Buildings to submit a memorandum highlighting the struggle of healthcare workers to secure employment. Last week, the Department of Health announced a budget allocation of 3.7-billion-rand for the recruitment of additional staff. Rise Mzansi Gauteng convenor Tebogo Moalusi emphasised that it is unacceptable to have unemployed healthcare workers while the sector remains understaffed:

# Indian authorities are trying to figure out what caused a freight train with 53 wagons carrying stone chips to travel over 70-kilometres without a driver. It was eventually stopped after racing past several stations at 100-kilometres per hour, and no-one was injured. The problem apparently started at the station of Kathua where a change of crew was scheduled, but the train started moving down a slope. Railway personnel closed off crossings along the way and eventually stopped the runaway train by placing wooden blocks on the tracks.

# Motorsport: The Formula One season kicks off in Bahrain this weekend after the teams went through their pre-season trials last week. Charles Leclerc of Monaco set the fastest time in his Ferrari, while his Spanish teammate, Carlos Sainz, also had two good days of testing in his last season for Ferrari before being replaced by Lewis Hamilton of Britain, who is leaving Mercedes. But Leclerc says the Red Bull team of three-time world champion Max Verstappen of the Netherlands is still the team to beat.

Stay tuned for more news………….