News 12:00

BULLETIN 13 June 12 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Government is monitoring a new Covid-19 variant emerging in parts of Asia
# An FNB economist says South Africa’s mining activity remains under pressure due to global uncertainty
# And motorsport: Max Verstappen will be banned for one race if he collects just one more penalty point this month

# Minister in the Presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, says government is closely monitoring the emergence of a new Covid-19 variant, Nimbus, which has been reported in parts of Asia. She assures the public while the variant has not been detected in South Africa, the Department of Health remains vigilant. Ntshavheni has urged the public not to panic but to remain cautious by continuing to follow basic health measures:

# FNB senior economist, Thanda Sithole, says near-term mining activity remains under pressure from slowing global growth and persistent global uncertainty. According to Statistics South Africa, the country’s mining production fell by 7.7-percent in April compared to the same period last year, marking the sixth straight month of contraction. Sithole says the medium-term outlook should be supported by ongoing infrastructure reforms, particularly in energy and logistics:

# Iran’s armed forces have warned that Israel and the US will pay dearly for the strikes on its nuclear sites. The attacks were part of Israel’s Operation Rising Lion which killed Iran’s chief of staff, Mohammad Bagheri, and the leader of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, Hossein Salami. US secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed that America was not involved in the attack, but Iran’s Foreign Ministry says such acts of aggression by Israel could not have occurred without coordination and authorisation from the US.

# Motorsport: Red Bull’s Formula One world champion, Max Verstappen, will have to be very careful to avoid more penalty points in the next two Grand Prix races in Canada and Austria. He received a 10-second penalty after the previous race in Spain for colliding with the Mercedes of George Russell, leading to another three penalty points to his F1 super licence. That took his tally to 11 for the last 12-month period which expires on 30 June, and one more penalty point will lead to an automatic one-race ban.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-92-cents and the euro at 20-rand-68-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-30-cents and Bitcoin trades at 105-thousand-224-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-423-dollars-63-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 72-dollars-93-cents a barrel.

# And finally: The Constitutional Court in Johannesburg, led by Chief Justice Mandisa Maya, will host a ceremony next Friday to mark 30 years since it was opened by late former president Nelson Mandela in 1995. The event celebrates South Africa’s constitutional democracy and its progress since the dawn of democracy. President Cyril Ramaphosa and international dignitaries, including representatives from other judicial jurisdictions, are expected to attend the milestone occasion which highlights the court’s enduring role in upholding the Constitution.

Stay tuned for more news………….