News 17:00

BULLETIN 20 May 5 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Insurance costs rise as medical aid premiums increase
# Solidarity welcomes Denel’s wage increase for employees
# And soccer: Bafana Bafana is drawn with Kenya in the AFCON qualifiers

# Statistics South Africa says the insurance index rose by 1.3-percent in April. Price Statistics chief director Patrick Kelly says the increase was mainly driven by higher health insurance costs. He says when medical schemes adjust their annual premiums, they create a noticeable ripple effect across the broader Consumer Price Index. He says the adjustments were the main contributor to the overall rise in the insurance index:

# Trade union Solidarity has welcomed Denel’s new wage agreement, which gives employees a 5.5-percent salary increase backdated to April this year. According to the union, the deal recognises workers who remained loyal despite years of uncertainty at the state-owned arms manufacturer. It remains cautiously optimistic about the company’s future and potential new investment interest. Solidarity’s Derek Mans says more work is needed to stabilise the company and address long-standing challenges:

# The DA says acting Police minister Firoz Cachalia has missed a deadline to provide clarity on the implementation of the South African Police Service lifestyle audits. No progress reports or documentation were provided by the 19 May deadline, despite earlier commitments that the audit process had begun. The DA’s Lisa Schickerling says lifestyle audits are essential to restore public trust amid concerns over alleged corruption and unexplained wealth among senior police officers:

# Lithuania’s president and prime minister were forced to take shelter when a drone alert caused the capital of Vilnius to come to a standstill. The two leaders were taken to emergency shelters after the city’s population was ordered to take cover. An evacuation order was also issued at Parliament, with politicians and staff led down to a basement shelter. It was the latest in a series of drone incursions in NATO member states. Ukraine earlier accused Russia of electronically jamming drones to hit targets in Latvia and Estonia.

# Soccer: Bafana Bafana have been drawn in Group D for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers alongside Kenya, Guinea and Eritrea. The qualifying draw was conducted in Egypt ahead of the tournament to be hosted by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. South Africa will begin their campaign during the September and October FIFA international window. Bafana coach Hugo Broos will face South Africa’s all-time leading goal scorer and Kenya’s Harambee Stars coach, Benni McCarthy. Only the top teams will secure places at the 2027 continental tournament.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-60-cents against the rand and the euro at 19-rand-24-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-24-cents and Bitcoin trades at 77-thousand-494-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-500-dollars-90-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 105-dollars-10-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….