News 11:00

BULLETIN 16 February 11 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Ramaphosa says providing quality education to young people is an all-of-society effort
# South African survivor Juliette Bryant describes Jeffrey Epstein as a mastermind criminal
# And rugby: The Junior Springboks are ready for a physical test against Georgia

# President Cyril Ramaphosa says there are still huge challenges in education despite progress in expanding access to schooling and improving matric results. In his weekly newsletter, he says access to resources and quality teaching is uneven, and schools in townships and rural areas struggle with overcrowding. Ramaphosa says helping fill this gap is the Basic Education Employment Initiative, which has created more than 1.3 million work opportunities. He adds government is striving to create more work opportunities for young people while delivering quality education for all.

# South African survivor of Jeffrey Epstein, Juliette Bryant, has described the late convicted sex predator as a mastermind criminal and highly manipulative. He recruited her from Cape Town in 2002 as a 20-year-old first-year university student and aspiring model. Bryant says he raped her multiple times on his private Caribbean island, as well as his ranch in New Mexico, between 2002 and 2004. Bryant told Newzroom Afrika she was not trafficked to other men:

# Gauteng police have arrested two more suspects in connection with the murder of an e-hailing driver in Pretoria West last week. Preliminary investigations suggest the victim was murdered in his car by a man and a woman who requested a ride on an e-hailing app. The incident was captured on dashcam footage. The driver’s body was found in Atteridgeville. Police spokesperson Mavela Masondo says they are searching for a fourth suspect:

# European Union’s Foreign Policy chief, Kaja Kallas, has rejected the suggestion that Europe faces civilisational erasure. US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, stated Washington would only work alongside Europe if it changed to accommodate US leadership on mass migration, free trade and greater European defence spending. Kallas says “Euro-bashing” was now very fashionable despite all the good things Europe actually has to offer:

# Rugby: Junior Springboks attack coach, Melusi Mthethwa, says they will use their upcoming trip to Georgia to improve the players’ cohesion and understanding of the game model. South Africa will play a warm-up game against the Lelo Saracens on Wednesday before taking on Georgia Under-20 in two Tests next week. This is in preparation for the Junior World Championship in June and July. Mthethwa says Georgia is renowned for its bruising, forward-oriented style of play, which is exactly the kind of physicality his charges need.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 15-rand-92-cents and the euro at 18-rand-89-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-72-cents and Bitcoin trades at 68-thousand-457-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-991-dollars-38-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 67-dollars-24-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….