News 08:00

BULLETIN 30 September 8 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Business Leadership SA says market diversification will withstand trade volatility
# Trump has unveiled a 20-point peace plan to end the war in Gaza
# And netball: The NWU Eagles are the Varsity champions

# Business Leadership South Africa says the combination of infrastructure advances and market diversification is creating a stronger medium-term outlook that will withstand future political and trade policy volatility. The government is currently pursuing a dual strategy of restoring predictable US trade relations while simultaneously diversifying partnerships globally to mitigate tariff uncertainty. BLSA CEO Busiswe Mavuso says the government can do much more domestically to boost competitiveness and make trade a job creator again.

# National Assembly speaker, Thoko Didiza, has called for stronger youth participation in parliaments and global decision-making platforms. According to the Inter-Parliamentary Union, only 2.8-percent of the world’s parliamentarians are under the age of 30, and 73-percent of Upper Houses have no members under the age of 30. Addressing the P20 Young Parliamentarians Forum, Didiza emphasised that young people remain a vital force for shaping inclusive, sustainable and peaceful societies:

# The Gauteng Education Department says rising demand and budget cuts have strained funding, causing delayed payments to service providers in its Extended National School Nutrition Programme. The Department’s spokesperson Steve Mabona says the provincial extension supports vulnerable learners in fee-paying schools. He emphasised that meals remain uninterrupted, engagements with providers are ongoing, and a national review of the school quintile system is underway:

# US president Donald Trump has unveiled a 20-point peace plan for Gaza, which still requires sign-off from Hamas. He met with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Monday. The plan proposes a swap of hostages held by Hamas for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, a staged Israeli withdrawal from the Palestinian territory, and Hamas disarmament. Trump says he will also head up a new international transitional body, called the Board of Peace:

# Netball: The North-West University Eagles are the Varsity Netball champions after beating defending champions University of the Free State’s Kovsies 57–49 in the final in Bloemfontein. It is the Eagles’ third title, and their first since 2016. The Kovsies dictated the pace and led the first three quarters. The Eagles responded with determination and composure in the closing quarter, overturning the deficit with relentless defensive pressure and clinical execution in attack to seal the win. Coach Elsunet du Plessis praised her players for their resilience and mental strength.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-25-cents and the euro at 20-rand-23-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-17-cents and Bitcoin trades at 114-thousand-408-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-856-dollars-19-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 66-dollars-47-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….