News 17:00

BULLETIN 16 May 5 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# President Cyril Ramaphosa assures compensation for the George building collapse victims
# The Basic Education Department welcomes the passing of the BELA Bill
# And rugby: Ma’a Nonu says South African teams hit the jackpot by moving to European competitions 

# President Cyril Ramaphosa has assured families of victims in the George building collapse they will be compensated. The death toll is at 33, with 19 construction workers still missing. During his site visit, Ramaphosa expressed sorrow and gratitude to volunteers and rescue workers. He affirmed government’s commitment to following proper compensation procedures:

# The Basic Education Department has welcomed the National Assembly’s approval of the Basic Education Laws Amendment Bill. With 223 votes in favour and 78 against, minister Angie Motshekga hailed it as a watershed moment. She says the bill addresses critical challenges and harmonises school language policies with provincial directives while maintaining the constitutional right to education:

# The Information Regulator urges political parties and independent candidates to safeguard voter information and ensure fair elections. In a move to crack down on political party scam calls ahead of the elections, voter data should be collected directly from voters and used solely for campaign purposes, prohibiting sharing without consent. The regulator’s spokesperson, Nomzamo Zondi, calls for robust measures to protect personal information and promote accurate information flow during the electoral process:

# Rugby: Legendary All Blacks centre Ma’Nonu believes South Africa’s departure from Super Rugby didn’t just favour the country, but also harmed the competition where quality and excitement is concerned. The southern hemisphere’s premier club tournament is said to have been a leader, but is now financially dwarfed by European competitions. Nonu believes France’s Top 14, the United Rugby Championship and the Premiership are now ahead of Super Rugby Pacific and says South Africa has hit the jackpot in Europe because their teams keep getting better.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-23-cents and the euro at 19-rand-80-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-7-cents and Bitcoin trades at 65-thousand-981-dollars-47-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-376-dollars-72-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 83-dollars-33-cents a barrel.

# And finally: Extreme heat and climate change-fuelled disasters influence key neurological diseases and mental health disorders. This is according to a study published by the University College London. Researchers found that environmental factors not only affect the prevalence of disease but can heighten the associated risk of hospital admission, disability and even death. The researchers considered 19 different nervous system conditions. Professor Sanjay Sisodiya says there is clear evidence of an impact of the climate on some brain conditions, especially stroke and infections of the nervous system.

Stay tuned for more news………….