Budget points to “improving fiscal prospects”, but pressure for growth remains
With the rand and SA bonds strengthening, Moody’s Ratings says the Budget confirms the country’s “strong fiscal performance, underpinned by broad-based revenue growth, and points to improving fiscal prospects”. The agency said “we expect strengthening economic activity, continued spending discipline, and lower debt service costs to support a gradual narrowing of the general government deficit”, but cautioned that South Africa’s “fiscal space to absorb shocks will remain limited”.
Iran talks continue as pressure for nuclear deal mounts
Iran and the United States meet in Geneva for nuclear negotiations today, which are being considered a last chance for diplomacy in the light of the massive United States military buildup of aircraft and warships in the Middle East. Oman is mediating the indirect US-Iran talks in Switzerland. Iran has warned that if the US does attack it, all US military bases in the Middle East would be considered legitimate targets.
Court win for Hong Kong’s Lai will not secure his release
Pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai’s fraud conviction – over property leasing – has been overturned by a Hong Kong court in what has been characterised as a rare legal win for the activist, but the 78-year-old’s sentencing weeks ago to 20 years in jail in another case brought under the national security law imposed by Beijing will mean he will remain behind bars. The law was introduced to check pro-democracy protests. Lai was arrested more than five years ago.
Rubio says US gathering info after Cuba announces deaths of four in speedboat incident
Cuba has said its forces killed four exiles and wounded six others when they responded to fire from a Florida-registered speedboat that entered its waters. Cuba’s interior ministry said some of those on the speedboat, who were dressed in camouflage and armed with assault rifles, handguns, homemade explosives, ballistic vests and telescopic sights, had previously been sought for plotting attacks against Cuba. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US was now gathering information to determine whether the victims were American citizens or permanent residents.
Biden administration guilty of “alarming”overreach in seizing phone records – Patel
FBI director Kash Patel said records of his and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles’s phone calls were subpoenaed by the FBI during the federal probe of Donald Trump when they were both private citizens in 2022 and 2023. In a statement to Reuters, Patel said: “It is outrageous and deeply alarming that the previous FBI leadership secretly subpoenaed my own phone records – along with those of now White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles – using flimsy pretexts and burying the entire process in prohibited case files designed to evade all oversight.” Reuters could not independently establish what records the FBI obtained or who approved the subpoenas. The news agency also couldn’t ascertain if Patel or Wiles themselves were under investigation and, if so, why.
Sources: Associated Press, News24, BBC, The Guardian, Reuters, France24