News 13:00
BULLETIN 11 August 1 pm
Good afternoon. I am……..
In this bulletin:
# The FF Plus stresses South Africa is a violent society
# The EFF says the crisis in women’s health is laid bare by the alarming rate of maternal deaths during childbirth
# And, Olympic Games: Sifan Hassan claims her third medal with gold in the women’s marathon
# The Freedom Front Plus says there is mounting pressure from women’s side on society in general. The FF Plus’ Erika Botha-Rossouw says South Africa is a violent society in which the role of women was overlooked for ages. She adds it would, however, be unfair to simply sit back and expect government to empower women to take their rightful place in every area of society:
# The EFF says the crisis in women’s health is laid bare by the alarming rate of maternal deaths during childbirth, a devastating issue that demands urgent action. The EFF’s spokesperson, Leigh-Ann Mathys, says despite some progress, the maternal mortality ratio remains disturbingly high, with a rise to 88 per 100-thousand in 2020. Mathys says this stagnation in improvement is a damning indictment of the system’s failure to prioritise women’s lives. She adds the situation is even more dire in regions like the Northern Cape and Eastern Cape, where the mortality rate has increased.
# The mayor of Kyiv Vitali Klitschko says Russia launched attacks on Ukraine’s capital city early this morning, with air defence systems engaged in repelling the strikes. Emergency services say a man and his four-year-old daughter were killed and several people are wounded. Earlier, Russia evacuated more than 76-thousand people from its Kursk region as Ukraine’s incursion into its territory deepened. Thousands of Ukrainian troops are reported to be as deep as 20-kilometres inside Kursk in the biggest attack on Russian sovereign territory since the start of the war in 2022.
# Olympic Games: The Dutch sensation Sifan Hassan set a new record as she won gold in the women’s marathon in Paris this morning. Her time was two-hours, 22-minutes and 55-seconds. Hassan incredibly also boasts bronze medals in the five-thousand and the 10-thousand metres. Tigst Assefa of Ethiopia won silver, with Kenya’s Hellen Obiri claiming bronze. The best placed South African was Olympic debutant Cian Oldknow, who ended 32nd, followed by Irvette van Zyl in 37th place and Gerda Steyn who finished 45th.
# And, DA leader John Steenhuisen says the party recognises and applauds the millions of women making a meaningful difference in their communities across the country. He mentions a group of unemployed women at Tara Road Community Garden in The Bluff, eThekwini, who started a food garden. Steenhuisen says the initiative has not only grown into a viable small business, where produce is sold in local markets, but it also supports various community feeding schemes:
Stay tuned for more news………….