News 15:00

BULLETIN 3 June 3 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The SA economy grows by just 0.1-percent as agriculture saves the day
# SADTU welcomes the resumption of the Education Assistants Programme in schools
# And Cricket: It’s the final day in the IPL and Kohli wants that trophy

# South Africa’s economy grew by just 0.1-percent in the first three months of the year. The agricultural sector was the main driver, growing by nearly 16-percent thanks to good rains, which helped avoid a contraction in gross domestic product. However, mining and manufacturing dragged the economy down, with declines in key products like platinum and chemicals. Stats SA’s Bokang Vumbukani-Lepolesa says load-shedding also returned, contributing to a steep drop in electricity output:

# Sadtu has welcomed the 200-thousand young people who started working as education assistants and general school assistants in public schools across the country. According to Sadtu’s spokesperson, Nomusa Cembi, this forms part of the Basic Education Employment Initiative, a flagship programme of the Presidential Employment Stimulus. She says the return of the programme will once again bring much-needed relief to teachers, particularly those managing overcrowded classrooms while struggling with the burden of administrative tasks:

# The Recycling and Economic Development Initiative of South Africa has welcomed the withdrawal of the Industry Waste Tyre Management Plan approval. Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment minister, Dion George, has withdrawn the approval to ensure a comprehensive review. Redisa says the country produces at least 253-thousand tonnes of waste tyres a year, which is being mismanaged by the waste bureau under the department. It says that the public health threats caused by the uniquely toxic character of waste-tyre pollution are a major concern.

# The White House says US President Donald Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping will likely hold a long-awaited call later this week, as trade tensions between the world’s two biggest economies ratchet back up. Trump reignited strains with China last week when he accused the world’s second-biggest economy of violating a deal that had led both countries to temporarily reduce huge tariffs. Trump and Xi have yet to have any confirmed contact more than five months since the Republican returned to power.

# Cricket: D-Day has arrived as Virat Kohli’s Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Punjab Kings play in the final of the Indian Premier League at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium. Play starts at 4pm. The two teams locked horns in the first qualifier as well. RCB beat Punjab by eight wickets in a one-sided contest. However, the Shreyas Iyer-led side have since beaten five-time champions Mumbai Indians in the second qualifier to earn another contest against RCB for the trophy. Kohli has never won the IPL but this time his team are the favourites.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-89-cents and the euro at 20-rand-37-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-15-cents and Bitcoin trades at 105-thousand-281-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-356-dollars-91-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 64-dollars-70-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….