NEWSFLASH NEWS AGENCY 11 February 7 am

Good morning,

In this bulletin:

# Cyril Ramaphosa says the fight against corruption is far from over
# South Africa records more than three-thousand new Covid-19 cases
# And, the British foreign secretary warns Russia to respect Ukraine’s sovereignty

# President Cyril Ramaphosa says while government has taken decisive steps to end the era of state capture, the fight against corruption is far from over. He delivered the state of the nation address at the Cape Town City Hall yesterday evening. Ramaphosa says his job is to ensure that the state capture commission report is properly and carefully considered and then acted upon. He says by no later than the 30th of June, he will present a plan of action in response to the commission’s recommendations:

Play sound: ENG-RamaphosaOnCorruption

Ramaphosa says problems in the country’s economy are deep and they are structural. He says when electricity supply cannot be guaranteed, railways and ports are inefficient, innovation is held back by a scarcity of broadband spectrum, water quality deteriorates, companies are reluctant to invest and the economy cannot function properly:

Play sound: ENG-RamaphosaOnElectricity

Meanwhile, the president says government is reviewing the Business Act – alongside a broader review of legislation that affects Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises, to reduce the regulatory burden on informal businesses. He has appointed Small Business Institute chairperson Sipho Nkosi to head up a team in the presidency to cut red tape across government:

Play sound: ENG-RamaphosaRedTape

# South Africa has recorded three-thousand-169 new Covid-19 cases in the past 24 hours. The majority of new cases are from Gauteng with 32-percent, followed by the Western Cape with 19-percent and KwaZulu-Natal accounting for 14-percent. There has been an increase of 86 hospital admissions in the past 24 hours. A further 12 Covid-19 related deaths have been recorded, bringing the total fatalities to 96-thousand-705 to date. The country’s recovery rate stands at 96.1-percent.

# British foreign secretary, Liz Truss, says she has delivered a clear message to minister Sergei Lavrov that Russia must de-escalate, respect Ukraine’s sovereignty and engage in meaningful talks. Russia has been massing troops on Ukraine’s borders and in Belarus for months. Truss says if Russia is serious about not invading, they need to see troops withdraw. She adds that the military build-up is an undeniable threat to Ukraine:

Play sound: ENG TrussOnRussia

# Rugby: England will host the Barbarians at Twickenham on the 19th of June ahead of their tour to Australia in July. The fixture will be the first meeting between the teams in three years. England coach Eddie Jones says the Barbarians fixture is a special one in rugby, and it is always a good challenge for the players, entertaining for supporters and showcasing the spirit of the game. He says this game will be good preparation before they head to Australia.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar is trading at 15-rand-17-cents and the euro at 17-rand-31-cents. One British pound costs 20-rand-56-cents and Bitcoin trades at 42-thousand-848-dollar-3-cents. Gold is selling at one thousand-825-dollars-55-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 91-dollars-1-cents a barrel.

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