RADIO BULLETIN NO: 06 FOR 18H00

HERE IS TODAY’S BULLETIN FOR 18H00
THURSDAY, 26 MARCH 2026
NAMIBIA PRESS AGENCY

1 (WINDHOEK, 26 MAR, NAMPA) – The Minister of Gender Equality and Child Welfare, Emma Kantema has urged mothers in distress to seek counselling and support instead of abandoning their babies.

Kantema made the call during a government information sharing session here today, which focused on child neglect and abandonment alongside their causes and effects, as well as social responsibility.

“We are really encouraging young mothers, we are really encouraging mothers to seek help so that we can come out and assist,” she stressed, saying that some mothers find themselves in difficult positions such as abusive relationships and poverty, and counselling helps in such situations.

“With that counselling, we’ll then look at what your situation is, and we’ll assist you to explore various ways,” the minister added.

Although she does not encourage abandonment, the minister highlighted legal channels through which mothers can give up their babies if they cannot care for them at all. These include kinship care, adoption and places of safety.
NAMPA


2 (BRUSSELS, 26 MAR, AFP) - European Union lawmakers today gave a green light -- with conditions -- to the bloc's tariff deal with US President Donald Trump, which Europe wants to salvage while it also races to diversify trade ties around the globe.

Brussels and Washington last summer clinched a deal setting tariffs at 15 per cent on most EU goods.

But Trump's 2025 tariff blitz, including hefty levies on steel, aluminium and car parts, jolted the 27-country bloc into cultivating trade ties around the world.

The EU has since signed deals with South American countries and Australia and continues to pursue others.

That doesn't mean it intends to walk away from its 1.6 trillion euro ($1.9 trillion) relationship with the United States, its largest trade partner.
AFP


3 (NICOSIA, 26 MAR, AFP) - Cyprus today unveiled a EUR200-million support package to shield households and businesses from the economic fallout of the Iran war, which has driven a spike in fuel prices.

The package combines tax relief, subsidies and targeted support for vulnerable sectors such as tourism and agriculture.

In a televised address, President Nikos Christodoulides said the European Union member's "strong and resilient" economy allows for targeted intervention.

Cyprus is heavily dependent on imported energy, and the move is aimed at cushioning the war's impact, especially on travel and tourism.

The eight temporary measures include VAT reductions on household electricity bills for a year, cuts to fuel excise duties until June and subsidies for farmers in April and May.
AFP


4 (MOSCOW, 26 MAR, RIA NOVOSTI - The heads of G7 finance, energy ministries and central banks will discuss the release of strategic oil reserves at a meeting on March 30 amid rising fuel prices due to the conflict in the Middle East, French Trade Minister Serge Papin said today.

French Finance Minister Roland Lescure said today that a meeting of G7 finance, energy ministers and central bankers would be held in France on March 30 for the first time in 50 years.

"The issue of releasing strategic reserves will be [discussed] there," Papin told the Europe 1 radio.

On March 11, members of the International Energy Agency (IEA) agreed to release 400 million barrels of oil from their emergency reserves following supply disruptions due to the situation in the Middle East.

On February 28, the United States and Israel launched strikes on targets in Iran, including in Tehran, causing damage and civilian casualties. Iran responded by striking Israeli territory and US military facilities in the Middle East.
RIA NOVOSTI


5 (BERLIN, 26 MAR, DPA) - Around one in three asylum seekers from Iran had their applications approved in Germany at the beginning of the year, official data showed today.

The figures from the Interior Ministry, which were seen by dpa following an inquiry by a lawmaker from The Left party, showed 35 per cent of asylum applications by Iranian nationals to the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) in January and February were successful.

The data does not include cases closed for procedural reasons, such as responsibility for the asylum claim lying with another EU member state.

The period in question came before the outbreak of the US-Israeli war against Iran, as the Iranian regime cracked down on a nationwide wave of protests.

The escalating war has triggered concerns in Europe about a flow of migrants escaping the violence.
DPA