News 08:00

BULLETIN 9 July 8 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# TLU SA is concerned about the impact of the US tariff
# Tax Justice SA says the illicit cigarette trade has reached chaotic levels
# And tennis: Alcaraz and Sabalenka are through to the Wimbledon semifinals

# The agriculture organisation TLU SA has expressed concern at the US’s imposition of a 30-percent import tariff on South African goods from August. The American market, with support of the African Growth and Opportunity Act, only accounted for four-percent of the country’s total agriculture exports in 2024. TLU SA’s Bennie van Zyl says this tariff will have disastrous impacts on the agriculture sector, including significant job losses:

# Tax Justice South Africa has raised the alarm, saying the country’s illicit cigarette trade has spiraled out of control. A new IPSOS study reveals that illegal cigarettes are now sold in over 76-percent of stores, nearly triple the rate from three years ago. Brands linked to Gold Leaf Tobacco Corporation, implicated in the Gold Mafia scandal, dominate the market. The organisation’s founder Yusuf Abramjee calls for urgent criminal action from SARS, the Hawks, and Parliament as approximately 250-million-rand is looted daily from South Africa by the illicit economy.

# Correctional Services National Commissioner, Makgothi Thobakgale, led a surprise search operation at Kgosi Mampuru C-Max Correctional Centre in Pretoria on Tuesday evening. Crystal meth and cellphones were among the contraband items discovered during the operation. On Sunday, the department led a raid at Baviaanspoort Correctional Centre. Thobakgale says while removing illegal items is the key focus of these raids, equal attention is being given to preventing their entry in the first place:

# Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he does not believe that their military campaign in Gaza is done, but that negotiators are certainly working on a ceasefire. This comes as US president Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, says he hopes a temporary, 60-day ceasefire will be agreed upon this week. Addressing the media at Capitol Hill after meeting Republican House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson, Netanyahu said Gaza can no longer constitute a threat to Israel:

# Tennis: Second seed Carlos Alcaraz continued his quest for a third consecutive Wimbledon title with a 6-2, 6-3, 6-3 win over Britain’s Cameron Norrie in the quarterfinals. The Spaniard will face Taylor Fritz in the semifinals after the American defeated Russia’s Karen Khachanov, 6-3, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6. In the women’s draw, world number one Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus battled past Germany’s Laura Siegemund, 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 in the quarterfinals. American Amanda Anisimova beat Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, 6-1, 7-6, to make her first Grand Slam semifinal in six-years.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-78-cents and the euro at 20-rand-81-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-12-cents and Bitcoin trades at 108-thousand-454-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-291-dollars-86-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 69-dollars-52-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….