News 11:00

BULLETIN 21 August 11 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Ramaphosa says Africa is not seeking aid, it is seeking partners
# The chief of the Defence Force has submitted a report on his trip to Iran to minister Motshekga
# And Ford, Nissan, and Citroen are recalling vehicles due to several defects

# President Cyril Ramaphosa says recent tariff actions by the US on African goods have highlighted the need to diversify export markets. He addressed the ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development in Japan. Japan is one of the major investors in the South African economy, and total bilateral trade between the two countries was 132-billion-rand last year. Ramaphosa says the African Continental Free Trade Area can become a platform from which Japanese and other global firms can export into the continent:

# The chief of the South African National Defence Force, General Rudzani Maphwanya, has submitted a report to Defence and Military Veterans minister, Angie Motshekga, about his recent controversial trip to Iran. Maphwanya came under fire for suggesting that South Africa and Iran have common goals. He also criticised Israel for its actions in Gaza. The SANDF clarified the rationale behind Maphwanya’s trip, saying he engaged in bilateral discussions with Iranian military leaders on various topics of mutual concern. It adds that the contents of the discussion are confidential.

# Daily Maverick has released new footage of journalist Pieter-Louis Myburgh’s infamous meeting with suspended Independent Development Trust CEO, Tebogo Malaka. In an interview with eNCA, Malaka denied her role in the highly publicised 60-thousand-rand bribe attempt, claiming that she was set up. She admitted to meeting Myburgh, but maintained she did not initiate the encounter, placing the blame on IDT spokesperson Phasha Makgolane. Daily Maverick says in the new footage, Malaka can be heard discussing a cash bribe and further lucrative tenders in exchange for Myburgh’s silence.

# The National Consumer Commission says Ford, Nissan and Citroën are recalling several models after identifying numerous defects. Giant car maker Ford is recalling more than 20-thousand vehicles in Southern Africa due to safety concerns. These include the Ranger and Everest models built between 2021 and this year. The commission’s spokesperson, Phetho Ntaba, says Nissan is recalling the Qashqai model sold between September 2021 and April last year due to battery connection problems that occurred during the production process:

# Tennis: Italians Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori are the US Open mixed doubles champions for the second year running. They defeated the number three seeds, Iga Swiatek and Casper Ruud, in a match-tiebreak at the Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York. This is just the fifth time a mixed doubles team has gone back-to-back at the Grand Slam tournament, and only the second time in four decades. Vavassori says he enjoyed playing this reimagined mixed doubles format:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-73-cents and the euro at 20-rand-65-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-86-cents and Bitcoin trades at 113-thousand-596-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-337-dollars-29-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 66-dollars-93-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….