News 12:00

BULLETIN 24 June 12 pm

Good afternoon. 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 years old were linked to air pollution in 2021
# And, motorsport: Max Verstappen is the Spanish master as Lewis Hamilton makes a podium return

# 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:

# 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.

# The City of Cape Town’s 72-hour water cut off operation to do essential maintenance to its supply network on the Cape Flats and parts of the southern suburbs will continue until Wednesday. A large part of the city is without water. Mayoral Committee Member for Water and Sanitation Zahid Badroodien says available water tankers are being deployed over the three days for emergency relief:

# A drone attack by the Israel Defence Force has killed Ayman Ratma, one of Hamas’ key weapons suppliers in the Bekaa valley. The Israeli military claims Ratma helped direct weapons supplies from Lebanon for Hamas and Jamaa Islamiya – a branch of the Muslim Brotherhood. The IDF says they killed Ratma because of his involvement in the promotion and execution of terrorist activities against Israel in the immediate future, as well as his involvement in advancing terrorist activity against Israeli civilians.

# 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-5-cents and the euro at 19-rand-34-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-85-cents and Bitcoin trades at 62-thousand-325-dollars-80-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-330-dollars-98-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 84-dollars-50-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….