News 11:00

BULLETIN 10 June 11 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Institute of Race Relations says president Ramaphosa is driving fake transformation
# Advocacy groups take Operation Dudula and the government to court over xenophobia
# And the Atomic Energy Agency warns an Israeli strike on Iran may push Tehran to seek nuclear weapons

# The Institute of Race Relations says president Cyril Ramaphosa has correctly observed that real transformation and economic growth are not mutually exclusive. In his weekly newsletter, the president stated that economic growth without transformation entrenches exclusion, and transformation without growth is unsustainable. The IRR’s Gabriel Crouse says real-life transformation happens when opportunities expand to include more citizens through education, on-the-job upskilling, and real improvement of income, wealth, and living standards:

# Finance minister Enoch Godongwana says South Africa’s ongoing partnership with the World Bank will assist the country to move forward with greater speed on the reforms vital to transforming the infrastructure landscape. The World Bank has approved an approximately 26.5-billion-rand loan to support structural reforms aimed at boosting the country’s infrastructure. The loan will make available funds for Eskom to bolster the grid for renewable generation and for Transnet to increase freight transport capacity.

# Advocacy groups, including Kopanang Africa Against Xenophobia and the South African Informal Traders Forum, are taking Operation Dudula and several government departments to the High Court in Johannesburg. They are seeking an interdict to stop the harassment, intimidation, and violence against foreign nationals and are also challenging the state’s failure to protect migrants. Kopanang’s Itumeleng Makou says the matter will be heard today and tomorrow and is backed by several human rights groups:

# The International Atomic Energy Agency warns an Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities could push Tehran closer to developing nuclear weapons. Israel’s undeclared atomic weapons programme makes it the only country in the Middle East with nuclear bombs. The US and Iran are in the midst of ongoing negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear programme. IAEA chief, Rafael Mariano Grossi, says Iran possesses enough enriched uranium to produce several nuclear bombs, which requires monitoring.

# Soccer: Twenty-eight players remain in Banyana Banyana head coach Desiree Ellis’s preliminary squad for the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations. She cut the group from 46 for the tournament, starting in Morocco early next month. Twenty-four of the remaining players will report for a training camp in Johannesburg on the 19th while the other four still have club commitments overseas. Ellis will announce the final squad on the 23rd. Banyana faces Ghana, Tanzania and Mali in their group matches.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-76-cents and the euro at 20-rand-24-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-95-cents and Bitcoin trades at 109-thousand-479-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-328-dollars-71-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 66-dollars-76-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….