News 06:00

BULLETIN 15 April 6 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Mcebisi Jonas says he is aware of the difficult task ahead
# Cricket: Three debutants are called up for Proteas Women’s triangular series in Sri Lanka
# And Katy Perry says she’ll write a song about her experience in space

# South Africa’s new special envoy to the United States, Mcebisi Jonas, has vowed to do his best to promote a healthy working relationship between the two countries but says he is aware of the difficulties he’s likely to encounter. The former deputy Finance minister will lead the country’s diplomatic, trade, and bilateral priorities and negotiations to foster partnerships with president Donald Trump’s administration. Jonas has appealed for patience in handling the complexity of the situation, saying there are no quick fixes to repairing the country’s relationship with America.

Meanwhile, the Forum for South Africa has expressed disappointment with president Cyril Ramaphosa’s appointment of Jonas as special envoy. They believe this move signals Ramaphosa’s lack of interest in fixing the deteriorating relationship between the two countries. While respecting Jonas’ integrity, the forum’s Tebogo Mashilompane argues that the president should lead efforts to improve relations with the US himself:

# Eskom and Exxaro have teamed up to fight climate change and cut pollution. They’ve signed a new agreement to reduce carbon emissions, improve air quality, and support a fair shift to cleaner energy. The plan includes using new green technology, creating jobs, and training people for work in the renewable energy sector. Eskom spokesperson Daphne Mokwena says this will help protect the environment while keeping electricity flowing.

# President Ramaphosa will visit the Eastern Cape today. The two day programme includes a Transnet briefing at the Port of Ngqura, a key transshipment hub linked to the Coega Special Economic Zone. Ramaphosa will assess operational improvements and ongoing projects. The president will also meet premier Oscar Mabuyane and the provincial executive to boost intergovernmental cooperation and service delivery. This marks the fifth provincial oversight visit under the Seventh Administration’s District Development Model.

# Cricket: Two teenagers earned their first call-ups to the Proteas Women’s squad for a triangular one-day series in Sri Lanka starting later this month. Seventeen-year-old wicketkeeper Karabo Meso and 19-year-old leg-spinner Seshnie Naidu impressed for the South African under-19 team which reached the final of the Junior World Cup earlier this year. Allrounder Miané Smit was also asked to join the squad for the series against Sri Lanka and India, seen as an important part of preparations for the World Cup starting in India in October.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-88-cents and the euro at 21-rand-41-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-87-cents and Bitcoin trades at 84-thousand-532-dollar-10-cents. Gold sells at three-thousand-212-dollars-43-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 64-dollars-92-cents a barrel.

# And finally: Pop star Katy Perry says she will write a song about her experience in space. She was part of an all-female crew on Monday, reaching space on Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin rocket. The crew included journalist Lauren Sánchez, broadcaster Gayle King, rocket scientist Aisha Bowe, civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen, and film producer Kerianne Flynn. As the crew was leaving space, Perry sang What a Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong. She highlighted the importance of covering this specific song:

Stay tuned for more news………….