News 12:00

BULLETIN 14 September 12 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The death toll in the crash on the N1 in the Western Cape rises to 21
# The latest warnings about artificial intelligence are impacting AI-linked Asian stocks
# And rugby: The Springboks reach their highest points total in the history of the World Rugby rankings

# Authorities confirmed the death toll following a serious collision involving two minibus taxis and an SUV on the N1 between Prince Albert Road and Leeu-Gamka in the Western Cape has risen to 21. Emergency and traffic teams remain on the scene. Mobility spokesperson Muneera Allie says the N1 is still closed in both directions. She urges motorists to avoid the area, expect significant delays, and follow instructions from traffic officials and emergency personnel.

# Union federation Cosatu remains confident Transnet will continue to improve and therefore must remain a publicly owned company. It recorded a profit of 4.6-billion-rand at the end of March after a 1.9-billion-rand net loss in the previous financial year. COSATU’s Matthew Parks says the major improvements at the country’s ports, with exports no longer facing weeks-long delays in the clearance of trucks and ships, are encouraging:

# Western Cape premier Alan Winde warns the agriculture sector to prepare now for the impact of El Niño. Winde says farmers, municipalities and government must act early to protect livelihoods and reduce risks. He says while El Niño’s worst effects are usually felt in summer-rainfall areas, the Western Cape faces risks including higher temperatures, increased wildfire threats and mounting pressure on water resources:

Moving abroad:

# Concerns over a slower pace of artificial intelligence development have intensified pressure on technology shares. Shares in A-I-linked companies in Asia have dropped today, with South Korea’s KOSPI index down by 3.7-percent and Chipmaker SK Hynix down by 5.75-percent. Major A-I investor SoftBank fell by 13-percent in Tokyo, while Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company dropped by 1.2-percent. This comes after Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei called for a conscious slowdown in A-I development, warning A-I is developing fast and could outrun humans’ ability to manage it.

# Rugby: The Springboks have reached their highest-ever points total in 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 extending 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-25-cents and the euro at 18-rand-74-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-90-cents and Bitcoin trades at 77-thousand-692-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-312-dollars-15-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 109-dollars-55-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….