News 14:00

BULLETIN 4 April 2 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Minister Ronald Lamola warns that US tariffs will undermine mutual growth and global cooperation
# SANTACO in Gauteng urges action after taxi industry killings
# And Rugby: Willie le Roux extends his Bulls’ contract until June 2027

# International Relations and Cooperation minister Ronald Lamola says the new US tariffs on South African goods threaten fair trade and shared economic growth. Speaking at a joint media briefing with Trade, Industry and Competition minister Parks Tau, Lamola said the 31-percent tariffs set to take effect on 9 April undermine trade partnerships like the African Growth and Opportunity Act and could hurt key sectors such as automotive, agriculture, and manufacturing:

# The South African National Taxi Council in Gauteng is calling for urgent action from law enforcement following deadly attacks on taxi industry members in Mabopane, Hartbeespoort, Johannesburg, Sedibeng, and Ekurhuleni. Santaco Gauteng secretary, Graham Fritz, says the violence is devastating for families and communities. He urged police to increase patrols and investigations, and called on the Gauteng Roads and Transport Department to resolve route conflicts fueling violence:

# Israel announced it killed a commander of Palestinian militant group Hamas, Hassan Farhat, in a strike in the Lebanese port city of Sidon that also killed his adult son and daughter. Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam condemned the strike as a “flagrant attack on Lebanese sovereignty” and a breach of the November 27 ceasefire with Israel. Israel alleged Farhat had orchestrated multiple attacks on Israeli soldiers and civilians during the hostilities that followed the outbreak of war in Gaza in October 2023.

# Rugby: Springbok fullback Willie le Roux has extended his contract with the Bulls till June 2027. Since arriving at Loftus in Pretoria at the end of the 2023 World Cup he has made 29 appearances across the United Rugby Championship and the Champions Cup. The versatile double World Cup-winning backliner arrived on an initial three-year contract, which would run until the end of June 2026. Le Roux says the next 12 weeks are very important for them because when you’re in knockout stages, there are no second chances.

# Financial indicators: The dollar trades at 19-rand-4-cents and the euro at 20-rand-91-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-71-cents and Bitcoin trades at 83-thousand-532-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-96-dollars-48-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 66-dollars-80-cents a barrel.

# And finally: Twenty-time Grammy Award-winning artist, Bruce Springsteen, is set to release seven albums of mostly unheard songs on the 27th of June. The 83-song collection, of which 74 have never been officially released, will be made available in a box set called Tracks II: The Lost Albums. Springsteen, who is one of the world’s best-selling artists, says the songs were written and re-recorded between 1983 and 2018:

Stay tuned for more news………….