News 06:00

BULLETIN 12 August 6 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The DA says the economy should grow at a significantly faster pace
# Donald Trump secretly departed Turkey due to an Iranian threat
# And cricket: Björn Fortuin will captain the Proteas for their visit to Namibia

# The DA says it is clear that South Africa’s jobs crisis is worsening, not improving, as economic reform is happening far too slowly to spur growth at the pace required to create jobs. The latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey shows that the country’s official unemployment rate has increased by 0.9 percentage points from 32.7-percent in the first quarter of this year to 33.6-percent in the second quarter. DA leader Geordin Hill-Lewis says economic growth needs to be the priority:

Meanwhile, Rise Mzansi says the rising unemployment rate shows that the government needs a new approach to the economy. The party calls for urgent reforms to local government, as well as improvements to water, energy and transport infrastructure to support economic growth and job creation. Rise Mzansi’s Mabine Seabe says fixing these structural problems is essential to attract investment and reduce unemployment:

# Investigating Directorate Against Corruption prosecutor Drushantha Ramsamy has told the Madlanga Commission that former IDAC head Andrea Johnson instructed her to target SAPS Brigadier Ashnie Krishnadatta. Krishnadatta took over from Khan in an acting position in the Vetting Department following his suspension. Responding to evidence leader Lee Segeels-Ncube, Ramsamy said the instruction was allegedly given during a June 2025 meeting where Johnson mentioned that her husband, Junaid, reported to Krishnadatta:

# AgriSA, Agri Western Cape and the Canning Fruit Producers Association are calling for urgent talks with Premier Foods over plans to stop soft-fruit canning at its Tulbagh facility before the 2026/2027 harvest. The organisations warn the closure could affect more than 200 fruit producers, thousands of jobs and the wider Western Cape fruit industry. They urge premier Alan Winde to honour existing commitments and give all stakeholders time to find a sustainable solution that protects farmers, workers and the region’s long-term agricultural production.

# A possible Iranian threat forced US president Donald Trump to be secretly moved after the NATO summit from Air Force One to a military jet via a catering container at Turkey’s Ankara airport last month. According to reports, the US had detected a credible Iranian threat to fire a missile at the plane. Without confirming the reports, White House spokesperson Steven Cheung stated that many enemies of America have their sights on the president, and they use every tool at their disposal to address those threats.

# Cricket: Spinner Björn Fortuin will captain the Proteas in the T20 tri-series in Namibia, as well as a one-day series. South Africa and its co-hosts for next year’s one-day World Cup, Namibia and Zimbabwe, will play in the capital of Windhoek from the 28th, followed by three ODI’s against the hosts. The brothers of two Proteas are set to make their debuts for the national team – ace bowler Marco Jansen’s twin, Duan, and Corbin Bosch’s brother, Eathan. Coach Shukri Conrad wants to give younger players some international experience.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-18-cents and the euro at 18-rand-68-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-86-cents and Bitcoin trades at 63-thousand-589-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-376-dollars-89-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 92-dollars-1-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….