News 18:00

BULLETIN 10 July 6 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# President Ramaphosa urges a global commitment to quality education
# The deputy minister of Education minister intervenes over the NSFAS Unisa payment delays
# And, the World Health Organisation says the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Ebola outbreak is still spreading

# President Cyril Ramaphosa has called on world leaders to make greater investments in education, as it is essential for economic growth and social development. Speaking at the Transforming Education Summit at UNESCO headquarters in Paris, Ramaphosa said countries must move from promises to action by improving access to quality education, supporting teachers and preparing young people with the skills needed for the future:

# Deputy Higher Education and Training minister Yusuf Cassim has intervened over delayed National Student Financial Aid Scheme allowance payments affecting more than 93-thousand University of South Africa students. During a meeting with Unisa management, student leaders and NSFAS representatives, the university attributed the delays to a system glitch after receiving funding on 2 July. Cassim says he will engage the NSFAS administrator on payment schedules and has urged Unisa to restore monthly data allowances for distance-learning students.

# The South African Federation of Trade Unions says it strongly condemns the constitutional amendment in Zimbabwe that enables president Emmerson Mnangagwa to remain in office until 2030. The new law passed by Parliament extends presidential and parliamentary terms from five to seven years. Saftu’s Asive Dyani says the Southern African Development Community cannot claim to defend democracy only when governments are overthrown through military coups, while remaining silent when constitutions are manipulated to achieve the same outcome:

# Four out of every five new Ebola cases in parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo have no known link to existing patients. The World Health Organisation has warned the true scale of the outbreak could be two to four times larger than official data suggests. Government data released yesterday shows the outbreak in the northeast has infected one-thousand-792 people and killed 625 to far. Authorities began training 21-thousand community health workers to conduct house-to-house visits, identify suspected cases and encourage people with symptoms to seek care.

# Cricket: Australia’s T20 Big Bash League will open in Chennai this season, becoming the first foreign league to enter the huge Indian market. The announcement was made during Indian prime minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Melbourne. SuperSport reports Melbourne Renegades and defending champion Perth Scorchers will play the BBL’s opening match in Chennai on the 12th of December, as part of a week-long festival across India which will feature Australian culture, business and sports.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-30-cents against the rand and the euro at 18-rand-61-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-85-cents and Bitcoin trades at 64-thousand-410-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-98-dollars-36-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 75-dollars-92-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….