News 16:00

BULLETIN 17 June 4 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# President Cyril Ramaphosa is to use the G7 summit in Canada to advance relations with major economies
# Jane Goodall’s chimpanzee conservation project in Tanzania is affected by USAID funding withdrawal
# And rugby: The Springbok Women’s assistant coach applauds their unbeaten run to win the Africa Cup

# Presidential spokesperson Vincent Magwenya says president Cyril Ramaphosa is using the G7 leaders’ summit in Canada to strengthen global cooperation on key issues. These include climate change, wildfire management, peacebuilding, and energy transition. Magwenya added Ramaphosa is also pushing for global cooperation on critical minerals and conflict resolution, working closely with countries like Portugal:

# ActionSA says urgent reforms are needed to address the failures of the government of national unity after its first year in office. The party has given the GNU a failing grade in its one-year performance review, citing excessive spending, poor accountability, and ethical failures. ActionSA’s Athol Trollip says ministers haven’t signed performance agreements, and nearly 400-million-rand was spent on overseas travel, with only five out of 32 ministers fully disclosing their expenses:

# The University of the Witwatersrand has made available 22-million-rand in emergency funding to immediately support postgraduate students and key research staff in the Faculty of Health Sciences. This is in response to the sudden termination of major international health research funding from the US government. Wits says this emergency funding will assist approximately 75 postgraduate students to complete their degrees, and will provide gap funding for key research-active staff members for up to six months. 

Meanwhile, ethologist and conservationist Jane Goodall’s chimpanzee conservation project in Tanzania is facing a major financial setback. This follows the United States Agency for International Development’s withdrawal of its pledged 548-million-rand funding. Launched in 2023, the Hope Through Action initiative is intended to protect endangered chimpanzees through reforestation and community-led methodology. The overall chimpanzee population numbers have fallen to below 340-thousand.

# Rugby: The Springbok Women’s assistant coach, Franzel September, says there are pride and relief after the team secured the Rugby Africa Women’s Cup title in Madagascar. The Bok Women dominated with victories over Uganda, Kenya, and the hostesses, ending the tournament undefeated. September praised the young, uncapped players for rising to the occasion, and highlighted the success of integrating sevens and World Cup players. He says the campaign boosted confidence ahead of the World Cup, starting in England in August.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-82-cents and the euro at 20-rand-62-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-17-cents and Bitcoin trades at 105-thousand-688-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-390-dollars-45-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 73-dollars-59-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….