News 12:00

BULLETIN 12 May 12 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Health Department plans to recruit 200 additional nurses
# Tennis: Alcaraz, Sabalenka, Zverev and Gauff are through to the Italian Open’s last 16
# And a part of a Soviet-era spacecraft is likely to have re-entered Earth’s atmosphere

# The Department of Health says it plans to recruit 200 additional nurses in the coming months in a bid to ease workloads and improve care. Today is International Nurses’ Day. The department’s spokesperson, Foster Mohale, says the recruitment of more nurses is part of the Human Resources for Health Strategy 2030, a plan linked to the country’s commitment to universal health coverage under the National Health Insurance:

# The DA is demanding that Defence and Military Veterans minister, Angie Motshekga, appoints a permanent director-general for the Department of Military Veterans with immediate effect. The position, which was left vacant after the resignation of Irene Mpolweni, was advertised last year, but is yet to be filled. The DA’s Maliyakhe Shelembe says the prolonged delay in appointing a permanent director-general has contributed to management instability within the department:

# United Nations secretary general, António Guterres, says he hopes the ceasefire agreement between India and Pakistan will contribute to lasting peace. A ceasefire was agreed over the weekend after days of escalating clashes that culminated in both sides launching missile strikes on each other’s major military bases. Guterres says the ceasefire will hopefully foster an environment conducive to addressing broader, longstanding issues between the two countries. He adds the UN stands ready to support efforts aimed at promoting peace and stability in the region.

# Tennis: Four-time Grand Slam champion Carlos Alcaraz continued his bid for a first Italian Open title with a straight-sets victory over Serbia’s Laslo Djere to reach the last 16. The Spaniard’s next opponent is Russia’s Karen Khachanov, who thrashed home favourite Francesco Passaro, 6-3, 6-love. Defending champion Alexander Zverev of Germany eased passed Lithuanian qualifier Vilius Gaubas. In the women’s draw, world number one Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, American Coco Gauff, and Russian Mirra Andreeva are through to the last 16.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-24-cents and the euro at 20-rand-28-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-4-cents and Bitcoin trades at 104-thousand-and-25-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-222-dollars-21-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 64-dollars-93-cents a barrel.

# And finally: Part of a Soviet-era spacecraft is likely to have re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere after being stuck in orbit for more than half a century. The European Space Agency says Kosmos 482, which launched in 1972 on a mission to Venus, never made it out of Earth’s orbit and instead broke into four pieces that have been circling the planet ever since. One fragment, believed to be the lander, most likely re-entered the atmosphere over the weekend. It is unclear whether it fell to the ground or burned up in the atmosphere.

Stay tuned for more news………….