News 13:00

BULLETIN 3 July 1 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Minerals Council criticises cabinet for the lack of consultation on chrome industry interventions
# Canoeing: Hank McGregor is on course for his 14th Berg River title
# And Onderstepoort vets lead Cambodia’s first elephant tusk removal procedure

# The Minerals Council South Africa has voiced concern over government plans to intervene in the chrome and ferrochrome industry. They warn that proposed measures such as export taxes could harm the mining sector, threaten jobs and stunt economic growth. The council calls for urgent talks to ensure value-added beneficiation doesn’t harm mining sustainability. The council’s Allan Seccombe welcomed the lower electricity costs and tax breaks for local smelters:

# The City of Johannesburg is calling on all property owners to take full advantage of the substantial property rebates available through the approved 2025/26 Property Rates Policy. The city seeks to stimulate investment in the property market and revitalise key urban areas. Spokesperson Nkosana Lekotjolo says this follows the approval and passing of the 2025/26 budget by council in May:

# A forest fire that broke out overnight on Greece’s largest island, Crete, led to the evacuation of tourists and citizens on the south coast. Firefighters battled through the night against the rapidly spreading fire. Some people were treated for breathing difficulties, but there were no immediate reports of more serious injuries. Authorities say at least one-thousand-500 people were evacuated and taken to temporary shelters. Greece is often hit by wildfires during the hot and dry summers. The latest fire comes as Europe faces a historic heat wave.

# Canoeing: Hank McGregor stamped his authority on the 2025 Berg River Marathon with a massive lead of almost six minutes over Robert Herreveld after the first leg. The 47-year-old multiple world champion is already strongly favoured to claim his 14th title. In the women’s race, Nix Birkett was fighting a close battle with Jenna Nisbet in the 62-kilometre stage from Paarl to Zonquasdrift. Today’s leg will run from Gouda to Bridgetown after a decision was made to remove the Zonquasdrift to Gouda section due to dangerous conditions.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-50-cents and the euro at 20-rand-64-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-91-cents and Bitcoin trades at 109-thousand-997-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-350-dollars-11-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 68-dollars-22-cents a barrel.

# And finally: Professors Gerhard Steenkamp and Adrian Tordiffe from the University of Pretoria’s Faculty of Veterinary Science at Onderstepoort have travelled to Cambodia to perform a tusk extraction procedure on an elephant. Steenkamp says the journey leading up to this huge undertaking began about 18 months ago, when doctor Navaneetha Roopan visited the Kulen Elephant Forest, where he noticed an elephant with a fractured tusk:

Stay tuned for more news………….