News 12:00

BULLETIN 11 June 12 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Ukraine hopes South Africa will attend the upcoming peace summit 
# The Institute of Race Relations supports the possible appointment of an independent Finance minister
# And soccer: Bafana’s coach says tonight’s World Cup qualifier against Zimbabwe is a must-win

# The Ukraine government says it is optimistic that South Africa will send a high-profile representative to the upcoming peace summit in Switzerland. President Cyril Ramaphosa will not attend as he focuses on post-election stability in the country. Ukraine’s special representative for the Middle East and Africa, Maksym Subkh, has lauded the role played by Ramaphosa and other African leaders in leading a peace mission to Ukraine and Russia in a bid to end the war.

Meanwhile, the Institute of Race Relations supports the idea of appointing an independent Finance minister as part of the formation of a government of national unity. During talks with the ANC, the DA reportedly proposed that Ramaphosa appoints a Finance minister who is not part of the ANC. The institute’s Michael Morris says appointing a credible, qualified, and non-partisan person to lead National Treasury, offers a route to depoliticising key cabinet portfolios

# The Border Management Authority has dismissed reports claiming that a transition to a biometric system at OR Tambo International Airport in Gauteng is causing delays for all international departures and arrivals. The authority’s spokesperson, Mmemme Mogotsi, says the current processing systems at its Immigration Services are fully operational and designed to handle the high volume of traffic efficiently. She adds the false reports have caused unnecessary concern among travellers and stakeholders:

# Soccer: Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos says tonight’s World Cup qualifier against Zimbabwe in Bloemfontein is a must-win. This will be South Africa’s third meeting against the Warriors in the preliminaries for the global competition, equalling the number they have played against Burkina Faso, their most frequent opponent. Broos says he has confidence in his team to get over the line:

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-63-cents and the euro at 20-rand-5-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-71-cents and Bitcoin trades at 67-thousand-353-dollars-82-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-305-dollars-20-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 81-dollars-54-cents a barrel.

# And finally: A new study has found that brightly coloured plastics degrade into microplastics quicker than plain coloured ones. A study by researchers from the University of Cape Town and the University of Leicester shows that pigments like red, blue, and green accelerate plastic breakdown, potentially increasing environmental harm. These findings, based on both rooftop exposure and beach samples, suggest manufacturers should reconsider the use of certain colorants to mitigate microplastic pollution.

Stay tuned for more news………….