News 11:00

BULLETIN 9 May 11 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# TLU SA laments the lack of government support for the agriculture sector
# There are more workers missing in the George building collapse than initially presumed
# And, about 70 schools have reported suicides or attempted suicides in the past six months

# Agricultural union TLU SA has criticised government’s lack of support for the agriculture sector, saying the sector is the core of the country’s food security. Farmers are facing a variety of challenges including droughts, and ongoing increases in input costs. TLU SA’s Bennie van Zyl says government primarily provides agricultural aid to small farmers who only fill about three-percent of the country’s food basket, while commercial farmers are left to fend for themselves:

# The George Municipality says following intensive scrutiny of the safety records, it was discovered that the number of workers on-site at the time of Monday’s building collapse was 81 and not 75 as initially reported. The municipality’s spokesperson, Chantel Edwards-Klose, says 37 people have been extracted from the collapsed construction site, eight of those have died, while 44 are unaccounted for:

# The South African Depression and Anxiety Group says suicide among schoolchildren is a major concern. Recently, four learners from Eqinisweni Secondary School in Ivory Park in Midrand, Gauteng allegedly committed suicide by consuming poison within ten days. Sadag says at least 70 schools have seen suicides or suicide attempts in the past six months. It says this problem needs to be addressed in a much more proactive and dynamic way.

# Rugby: The Lions are still chasing a place in the play-offs of the United Rugby Championship for the first time. They must win their remaining three games to have a chance and will face Welsh side Cardiff Blues on Saturday. The Lions have shown flashes of brilliance this season, but they also had some stuttering performances in other games. Forwards coach Barend Pieterse says the inconsistency is frustrating:

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-55-cents and the euro at 19-rand-92-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-15-cents and Bitcoin trades at 61-thousand-477-dollars-78-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-313-dollars-61-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 83-dollars-93-cents a barrel.

# And finally, an 18-month-old British girl has become the first person in the world to take part in a pioneering gene therapy trial, which has restored her hearing. Opal Sandy was born completely deaf due to auditory neuropathy. The condition disrupts nerve impulses travelling from the inner ear to the brain. In September last year, Opal had surgery where she received an infusion of the gene into her right ear. Her parents noticed improvements in her hearing after four weeks, and now she can hear almost perfectly.

Stay tuned for more news………….