News 12:00

BULLETIN 21 May 12 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# South Africa contributes 41.2-million-rand to the Ebola outbreak response in the DRC and Uganda
# NATO’s Mark Rutte says US troop reductions in Europe will not harm its defences
# And tennis: Players plan to protest over prize money by limiting their French Open media duties to 15 minutes

# The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has welcomed South Africa’s 41.2-million-rand pledge to the Africa Epidemics Fund to support the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda’s response to the Ebola outbreak. Over 600 suspected cases were reported in the two countries so far, with 139 deaths. Africa CDC says South Africa’s leadership reflects the growing importance of African-led financing mechanisms, and reinforces the vision of a more resilient, self-reliant and health-secure continent.

# GIWUSA is urging the Reserve Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee to cut the interest rate next week, despite the latest inflation figures from Statistics South Africa having come in at the upper limit of the one-percentage-point tolerance band of SARB’s new three-percent inflation target. GIWUSA president, Mametlwe Sebei, says fuel price shocks have pushed the energy component of inflation far higher, and therefore, price controls are needed:

# Tshwane city manager Johann Mettler says the metro needs about 20-billion-rand to deal with the overall water infrastructure backlogs. He appeared before the South African Human Rights Commission’s investigative inquiry at Constitution Hill in Johannesburg. The commission is probing the water crisis that has gripped Gauteng for several years. Mettler says rapid population growth, immigration, ageing infrastructure and backlogs continue to place pressure on the metro, but adds Tshwane is currently investing in alternative ways to supply water.

Moving abroad:

# NATO’s secretary general, Mark Rutte, says US troop reductions in Europe will be structured and not harm defences. His comments come after US president Donald Trump’s most recent attack on the alliance, sparked by German chancellor Friedrich Merz’s criticism of the US-Israeli war in Iran. Rutte says Trump’s proposed withdrawal of four to five-thousand troops is a rotational force that would not have an impact on NATO’s defence plans:

# Tennis: The world’s top players are reportedly planning to reduce their media appearances at the French Open in protest over prize money. Many don’t believe they are receiving a fair share of Grand Slam prize money and appropriate player benefits. Players selected for Friday’s opening news conference will walk out after 15-minutes. This is to represent the Grand Slams’ average allocation of 15-percent of revenues to prize money, while the players want the figure to rise to 22-percent. This year’s French Open’s prize money has increased by 9.5-percent.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-48-cents and the euro at 19-rand-17-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-15-cents and Bitcoin trades at 77-thousand-907-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-529-dollars-74-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 102-dollars-27-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….