News 08:00

BULLETIN 30 July 8 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The IMF keeps its growth forecast for South Africa stagnant
# South Africa’s mid-year population soars to 63-million
# And a powerful 8.8-magnitude earthquake hits Russia

# The International Monetary Fund’s growth forecasts for South Africa remain unchanged, while projections for global growth have lifted. In April, the IMF reduced the country’s forecast from the 1.5-percent projection in January to just 1.0-percent. In its latest World Economic Outlook, the IMF maintains that South Africa will only see an increase of one-percent this year and 1.3-percent in 2026. Meanwhile, the latest update sees global gross domestic product output this year lifting to around three-percent, up from the 2.8-percent forecast back in April.

# South Africa’s mid-year population has reached 63-million this year, with women making up just over 51-percent. Gauteng remains the most populated province with over 16-million residents, followed by KwaZulu-Natal with 12-million, while the Northern Cape has one million people. Gauteng and the Western Cape are the top destinations for internal migration. Statistics South Africa’s Diego Iturralde says that although over eight-million South Africans live with HIV, related deaths are falling due to wider access to treatment:

# ActionSA in Gauteng says it is unconscionable that, in a time of urgent need for functional and safe learning environments, a multi-million-rand public school could be constructed on ecologically sensitive and unsuitable land. This follows revelations that Bachana Mokwena Primary School in Ga-Rankuwa was built on a wetland. ActionSA’s John Moodey says the provincial departments of Infrastructure and Education must provide a detailed report on who approved the location, which environmental and building regulations were violated, and what disciplinary action will be taken:

# A powerful 8.8 magnitude earthquake has struck off Russia’s far eastern Kamchatka Peninsula, triggering Tsunami warnings in parts of Moscow, Japan, the US Pacific coasts, the Philippines, and Indonesia. Several people have been injured as authorities warn of strong aftershocks. The peninsula has already been rocked by a series of earthquakes in the last ten days. Meanwhile, New Zealand’s disaster management agency has warned that the country’s coastal areas could expect strong and unusual currents and unpredictable surges at the shore.

# Tennis: Eight star-studded teams have received direct entry into next month’s US Open Mixed Doubles Championship, while six teams have received wild cards. Emma Raducanu and Carlos Alcaraz are one of six wildcard pairings, including Novak Djokovic and Olga Danilovic. Two-time Grand Slam mixed doubles champion Venus Williams will compete with Reilly Opelka in front of their home crowd. Wimbledon singles champions Iga Swiatek and Jannik Sinner have direct entry with their respective partners, Casper Ruud and Emma Navarro. A further two wildcard teams will be announced later.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-85-cents and the euro at 20-rand-65-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-85-cents and Bitcoin trades at 117-thousand-954-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-327-dollars-75-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 71-dollars-51-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….