News 16:00

BULLETIN 12 February 4 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# South Africa’s manufacturing production shrank 0.4-percent in 2024
# Soccer: Vinicius Junior says City fans’ banner inspired him to help Madrid win
# And Eskom awards 138 bursaries to aspiring engineering students

# South Africa’s manufacturing production fell by 1.2-percent in December compared to the previous year. The biggest contributors to this decline were the motor vehicles and basic iron and steel sectors. However, the food and beverages division saw a positive increase of 5.8-percent. Statistics South Africa’s Nicolai Claassen says overall, manufacturing production fell by 0.4-percent last year compared to 2023:

# The Presidential Youth Employment Initiative has created over 1.5 million jobs since 2020. Launched by president Cyril Ramaphosa, the initiative was aimed at tackling youth unemployment, which currently stands at 45.5-percent. Deputy minister in the Presidency, Nonceba Mhlauli, has revealed that in the third quarter of 2024/25, over 53-thousand earning opportunities were secured through the programme. A total of 38-thousand people were accessed via the SA Youth platform and ten-thousand through the Youth Employment Service.

# Arab League secretary-general Ahmed Aboul Gheit has rejected any displacement of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, calling it unacceptable for the region. He says the focus today is on Gaza and tomorrow it will shift to the West Bank with the objective of emptying Palestine of its historical inhabitants. Aboul Gheit was commenting on US president Donald Trump’s plan to move Palestinians out of Gaza which has been widely condemned in the Arab world.

# Soccer: Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior says a banner shown by Manchester City’s fans during last nights first-leg Champions League playoff match inspired him to help his team win 3-2. The banner showed City midfielder Rodri with the Ballon d’Or trophy and the caption “Stop crying your heart out”. Vinicius, who was named Fifa’s player of the year last year, believes his activism against racism prevented him from winning the coveted award. The second round match will take place in Spain next Wednesday.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-44-cents and the euro at 19-rand-13-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-96-cents and Bitcoin trades at 96-thousand-225-dollars. Gold sells at two-thousand-881-dollars-59-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 76-dollars-15-cents a barrel.

# And finally: Eskom has awarded 138 bursaries to aspiring engineering students from various tertiary institutions across South Africa. The power utility’s bursary programme aligns with the National Development Plan 2030 and supports various United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Eskom’s spokesperson, Daphne Mokwena, says 39-percent of the beneficiaries are women:

Stay tuned for more news………….