News 11:00

BULLETIN 14 September 11 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# An accident claims the lives of 18 people on the N1 in the Western Cape
# President Cyril Ramaphosa says South Africa gains a lot from its membership in BRICS
# And rugby: The Springboks reach their highest points total in the history of the World Rugby rankings

# Eighteen people have been killed in an accident on the N1 between Prince Albert Road and Leeu-Gamka in the Western Cape. The collision involved two minibus taxis and a station wagon. Three people were seriously injured. Mobility Department spokesperson Muneera Allie says the N1 remains closed in both directions. She urged motorists to use the alternative route via Prince Albert Road Station, along the R407 towards the N12 and towards Beaufort West:

# President Cyril Ramaphosa says BRICS is an important platform for South Africa to build political and economic ties that benefit the country and its citizens. He attended the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi, India, over the weekend. In his weekly newsletter, Ramaphosa highlighted investment and trade, with more than a fifth of the country’s trade being with BRICS countries. He says South Africa will continue to add its voice to the growing call for an inclusive world order rooted in mutual respect and shared prosperity.

# The Soil of Africa Civic Movement says South Africa needs a Transnet that goes beyond profitability and plays a stronger role in driving economic growth. Transnet recorded a 4.6-billion-rand profit at the end of March after a 1.9-billion-rand net loss in the previous financial year. Spokesperson Luzuko Sofute says a stronger logistics system is essential to helping local businesses compete internationally and to ensuring Transnet contributes meaningfully to the broader economy:

Moving abroad

# US president Donald Trump has resisted stirring concerns about artificial intelligence, saying A-I is going to be more good than bad. A leader in the A-I race, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, warns A-I is developing so fast that it could outrun humans’ ability to manage it if left unchecked. Trump has acknowledged the need for some regulation, but expressed more concern about ceding America’s edge over China in a global competition on A-I:

# Rugby: The Springboks have reached their highest-ever points total on the world rugby rankings, following their 43-28 triumph over the All Blacks in Baltimore. The victory, which sealed the series 3-1, earned South Africa another 0.75 ranking points, taking them to 95.09 and extended their buffer at the top of the world rankings. This is the Boks’ highest points tally since the rankings were introduced in 2003. New Zealand remains second, with Ireland third, France fourth, and England wrapping up the top five.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-19-cents and the euro at 18-rand-70-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-84-cents and Bitcoin trades at 77-thousand-608-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-321-dollars-62-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 109-dollars a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….