News 11:00

BULLETIN 24 June 11 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The EFF says the DA’s failure to address racism endangers black South Africans
# Over three-thousand deaths of South African children under five are linked to air pollution
# And motorsport: Verstappen wins the Spanish Grand Prix with Hamilton returning to the podium

# The EFF has condemned the DA for ongoing racism and white supremacy. The party cited a video of DA leader Ian Cameron in blackface at a 2012 Afriforum protest and other instances of racist rhetoric by other DA members of Parliament. EFF spokesperson Leigh-Ann Mathys asserts the DA’s actions and harbouring of such leaders threaten equality and democracy in South Africa:

# The families of two South Africans engineers who have been held in Equatorial Guinea close to 17 months will be handing over a formal request to the President of the Pan-African Parliament, president Fortune Charumbira, in Midrand today. Spokesperson, Shaun Murphy says they are requesting the institution to help secure the release of Frik Potgieter and Peter Huxham. Murphy says the families will also stage a peaceful demonstration:

# Air pollution has reportedly caused three-thousand-365 deaths of children under five years in South Africa in 2021, with ambient particulate matter from fossil fuel combustion being a major contributor. The State of Global Air report has indicated that 80-percent of these deaths occurred within 28 days of birth. In total, over 34-thousand deaths were linked to air pollution across all ages. Globally, air pollution caused 8.1-million deaths in 2021. UNICEF urges South Africa to enhance child-focused climate policies in its upcoming nationally determined contributions due in March 2025.

# More than a million people are under flood warnings in the upper US Midwest after days of heavy rain that forced evacuations and rescues in several states. The hardest hit have been Iowa and South Dakota, where some rivers are expected to reach record-high levels over the next few days. The heavy storms come as parts of the US continue to deal with a week-long heat wave with daily temperature records in some cities. Scientists say extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and intense as a result of human-caused climate change.

# Motorsport: Red Bull’s three-time world champion Max Verstappen won the Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday from McLaren’s pole-sitter Lando Norris to extend his lead in the world championship. Lewis Hamilton completed the podium at the Barcelona-Catalunya circuit for the Mercedes seven-time former champion’s first podium of the season. This was Verstappen’s 61st career win, seventh of the season, and fourth at the track where he first shot onto the F1 scene as a teenager in 2016. The Dutchman heads to Red Bull’s home race in Spielberg in a week’s time.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-8-cents and the euro at 19-rand-36-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-88-cents and Bitcoin trades at 62-thousand-338-dollars-40-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-323-dollars-1-cent a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 84-dollars-27-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….