News 06:00

BULLETIN 17 June 6 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# President Ramaphosa says the challenges facing young people are grave, and their concerns are real
# Minister Lamola will host his Rwandan counterpart today
# And rugby: The Springbok assistant coach warns against underestimating the Barbarians

# President Cyril Ramaphosa says addressing the challenges facing young people requires practical solutions, not the scapegoating of vulnerable people. He delivered the keynote address at the National Youth Day commemoration in Johannesburg yesterday. The youth unemployment rate stands at 46-percent. Ramaphosa says the challenges facing young people are grave, and their concerns are real, which is why the government’s response must be comprehensive and urgent. He adds that government is acting on three fronts:

Ramaphosa also says all stakeholders in the country must work together to provide sustainable solutions to reduce unemployment among young people. South Africa’s official unemployment rate now stands at 32.7-percent, while 4.7 million young people who can work remain unemployed. Ramaphosa emphasised that the private sector has a responsibility too to address the challenge of unemployment:

# Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ronald Lamola, will host Rwanda’s minister of Foreign Affairs, Olivier J.P. Nduhungirehe, in Pretoria today. This forms part of ongoing efforts to rebuild and strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries. According to the United Nations COMTRADE database on international trade, South Africa maintains a significant trade surplus with Rwanda, exporting around 648-million-rand annually. DIRCO says discussions will focus on enhancing diplomatic engagement and advancing cooperation in priority areas, including trade, tourism, health, education, and security.

# The Johannesburg Crisis Alliance says the City of Johannesburg has still not provided information about Eskom’s threatened interruption of electricity supply to the metro. The metro and City Power currently owe Eskom an arrear debt of 5.25-billion-rand. Following negotiations between the minister of Electricity and Energy, Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, Eskom, and City Power, no agreement has been reached. The JCA says the crisis is further compounded by the extremely limited time given to the public to respond to Eskom’s Promotion of Administrative Justice Act notice.

# Rugby: Springbok assistant coach Deon Davids says the Barbarians’ unique identity and abundance of world-class talent make them a threat capable of troubling any international side. The Boks will face the Barbarians, which includes All Blacks legend TJ Perenara and South African-born Scotland wing Duhan van der Merwe, in Gqeberha on Saturday. Davids says their primary objective is to assess their own progress after a lengthy preparation period:

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-16-cents and the euro at 18-rand-78-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-71-cents and Bitcoin trades at 65-thousand-665-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-330-dollars-43-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 78-dollars-95-cents a barrel.

# And finally: While Volodymyr Zelensky is talking to leaders at the G7 summit in France about support for Ukraine, other news coming from the country clearly demonstrates that no living being is safe from the trauma of war.  A Russian drone strike hit enclosures at the zoo in Ukraine’s second-largest city of Kharkiv. At least 10 rabbits were killed in the enclosure housing hundreds of rabbits, guinea pigs, rats, and mice. Fifteen more rabbits were injured, while an elephant in an adjacent enclosure was showing signs of distress after its enclosure was damaged by the strike.

Stay tuned for more news………….