News 06:00

BULLETIN 5 August 6 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# President Ramaphosa says they formed the government of national unity knowing the risks and opportunities
# The Gender Equality Commission reiterates its call for equal pay
# And Olympic Games: Akani Simbine misses out on a medal in the 100-metre final

# ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa says they did not decide to form a Government of National Unity easily, as they did it fully aware of the risks and opportunities that come with it. On Sunday, he provided a political overview at the opening of the three-day ANC National Executive Committee Lekgotla in Boksburg. Ramaphosa says South Africans want the government of national unity to work together to advance their interests:

# The Commission for Gender Equality has reiterated calls for equal gender pay in South Africa. The World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report highlights South Africa’s significant income inequality as women continue to earn 23 to 35-percent less than men in the same roles. Commissioner Prabashni Subrayan-Naidoo stresses that addressing this issue requires promoting equality in opportunities, transparency, collaboration, and empowerment. She says high unemployment exacerbates the inequality.

# The South African Police Special Task Force has rescued 90 undocumented Ethiopian nationals found confined in Sunnydale Ridge, Johannesburg. They were discovered while police were investigating a kidnapping for ransom. Among the rescued was the kidnapped victim from Benoni. NATJoints spokesperson Athlenda Mathe says the Hawks will be investigating the matter:

# The Mpumalanga government will cover the funeral costs for six learners killed in a crash between a goods train and a school transport bus at Mafube Village in Middelburg. The crash happened at a level crossing on the R104. A mass memorial will be held on Wednesday, with the funeral on Saturday. Meanwhile, the provincial Health Department has confirmed ten of the 19 hospitalised children have been discharged, while nine remain in critical condition.

# The Bangladesh government has declared an indefinite nationwide curfew following anti-government protests. At least 76 people were killed on Sunday, as clashes between police and protesters continued. Thousands of people have taken to the streets calling for prime minister Sheikh Hasina to resign. The unrest comes as students protested against quotas for government jobs last month, which left at least 150 people killed. Hasina says those who are protesting are not students, but terrorists out to destabilise the country.

# Olympic Games:  South African sprinter Akani Simbine narrowly missed out on a bronze medal, finishing fourth in the men’s 100-metre final in Paris. He set a new national record with a time of 9.82-seconds. World champion Noah Lyles of the US won the gold medal by five-thousandths of a second with Jamica’s Kishane Thompson taking the silver and American Fred Kerley the bronze. Meanwhile, South Africa’s Prudence Sekgodiso has qualified for the women’s 800-metre final in a time of one-minute-57.5 seconds on her Olympic debut.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-28-cents and the euro at 19-rand-95-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-39-cents and Bitcoin trades at 58-thousand-456-dollars-30-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-443-dollars-26-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 77-dollars-12-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….