News 11:00

BULLETIN 18 February 11 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The EFF rejects the decline in the unemployment rate to 31.4-percent
# The DA welcomes the one million foot-and-mouth-disease vaccine doses set to arrive in South Africa over the weekend
# And Paralympics: Russian and Belarusian athletes are allowed to compete under their national flags at the Winter Games

# The EFF says the so-called decline in the official unemployment rate to 31.4-percent in the fourth quarter of 2025 is nothing but a statistical illusion designed to appease a suffering nation. According to the latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey, employment rose by 44-thousand to 17.1 million. The EFF says South Africans are not fooled by percentage point adjustments. It adds real recovery must show sustained employment growth exceeding labour force growth, a decline in discouraged work-seekers, and a shrinking extended unemployment rate.

# The DA has welcomed minister of Agriculture John Steenhuisen’s confirmation the first batch of one-million high-potency foot-and-mouth disease vaccine doses will arrive in South Africa this weekend. Government plans to vaccinate the entire national herd of over 14-million cattle over the next 12 months, with an estimated 28-million doses required to curb the outbreak. The DA’s Beyers Smit says the vaccines will bring much relief to the agricultural sector:

# The National Union of Mineworkers is calling on the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy to launch a comprehensive investigation into Ekapa Mine in Kimberley in the Northern Cape. This comes after five mineworkers were trapped in a mudslide yesterday morning. The rescue operation is continuing today. NUM regional secretary Mosepedi Sanane demands a transparent process to establish the exact cause of this disaster and to determine if there were any lapses in safety protocols:

Moving abroad:

# Ten skiers are missing, and another six are stranded in an avalanche that struck a backcountry slope near California’s Lake Tahoe region. The group of 16, made up of four guides and 12 clients, was on the last day of a three-day skiing trip when the avalanche hit yesterday. Nevada county sheriff spokesperson Russell Greene says the six known survivors have been directed to shelter as best they can in the dangerous conditions:

# Paralympics: The International Paralympic Committee says six Russian and four Belarusian athletes will be allowed to compete at next month’s Paralympic Winter Games in Italy under their nations’ flags. Both countries were banned from Paralympic competitions after Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, but regained full membership rights in the IPC after member organisations voted in September 2025 to lift their partial suspensions. This will mark the first time a Russian flag has been flown at the Paralympics since the 2014 games in Sochi.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 15-rand-97-cents and the euro at 18-rand-92-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-66-cents and Bitcoin trades at 67-thousand-824-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-934-dollars-74-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 67-dollars-13-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….