News 12:00

BULLETIN 25 September 12 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# President Cyril Ramaphosa is optimistic that South Africa will reach a beneficial trade deal with the US
# The ANC Women’s League says the DA’s Helen Zille’s Johannesburg mayoral bid is disingenuous
# And Motorsport: Marc Marquez can clinch his seventh MotoGP world title this weekend

# President Cyril Ramaphosa says he is optimistic that South Africa will reach a beneficial trade deal with America. US president Donald Trump imposed a 30-percent tariff on South African exports last month, after Pretoria failed to reach a trade deal with Washington before the first August deadline. Government has since offered a proposal for a trade agreement. Addressing the South Africa-USA Trade and Investment Executive Dialogue in New York, Ramaphosa says negotiations with the US are progressing well:

# The ANC Women’s League has criticised the DA’s announcement of Helen Zille as its mayoral candidate for Johannesburg ahead of next year’s local government elections, calling the move disingenuous and hypocritical. Zille, who is the party’s federal council chairperson, has promised to save the metro, drawing on her experience as City of Cape Town mayor and Western Cape premier. ANC Women’s League spokesperson, Boitumelo Moiloa, says Zille has a controversial past and a track record of exclusionary governance:

# Spain and Italy are deploying naval ships to escort the Global Sumud Flotilla after drone attacks on aid vessels bound for Gaza. Activists say drones dropped flashbang explosives and jammed communications during the mission to break Israel’s naval blockade. Among participants is South Africa’s Mandla Mandela, the grandson of Nelson Mandela. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez stressed that international law must be respected to protect the citizens from 45 nations. Italy also dispatched a frigate, calling the attacks a dangerous escalation.

# Motorsport: Marc Marquez can clinch his seventh MotoGP world championship in Japan at the weekend to underline a season of dominance and match the record of motorcycle great Valentino Rossi. The Spanish Ducati rider is on a whopping 512 points and needs just three points more than his brother Alex Marquez to win the title with five weekends to spare of the 22-race season. The 32-year-old has been in unstoppable form this year and his points total is already a single-season record for a MotoGP rider.

# Financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-31-cents and the euro at 20-rand-33-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-29-cents and Bitcoin trades at 111-thousand-927-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-753-dollars-60-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 67-dollars-96-cents a barrel.

# And finally: The One Club for Creativity has revealed the 13 young creatives shortlisted for Next Creative Leaders 2025, a free global competition for the advertising industry recognising women and non-binary creatives on the rise. Four on the shortlist are from South Africa. The other creatives are from Kenya, Lebanon, Jordan, and the United Arab Emirates. They were judged on four to six pieces of creative work and information about how they, and their work, are pushing the advertising industry forward and making a positive contribution in terms of diversity, mentoring, and advocacy.

Stay tuned for more news………….