News 13:00

BULLETIN 12 August 1 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Minister Parks Tau says government is working on diversifying the country’s export markets
# Rugby: Eben Etzebeth is due to play his 134th Test for the Boks on Saturday
# And Taylor Swift announces her new album titled ‘The Life of a Showgirl’

# Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Parks Tau, says the necessity of diversifying export markets has never been more apparent than in the current economic climate. In the wake of the recent 30-percent unilateral tariff imposed by the US, government has mobilised a multi-faceted response aimed at mitigating the adverse effects on the economy. Tau says they are accelerating efforts to explore new international markets beyond the US:

Meanwhile, Agriculture minister John Steenhuisen has emphasised that South Africa’s trade with the United States is mutually beneficial and the US gets a good deal from South Africa’s agriculture exports. He says many South African products are counter-seasonal and pose no threat to US production:

# Parents and guardians only have a few days left to apply for school transfers in the Western Cape. This process applies only to learners in Grades 2-to-7 and Grades 9-to-12 who are already enrolled in a school but need to transfer to another. The DA’s Western Cape Education spokesperson, Leon van Wyk, says acting early will allow the provincial Education Department to allocate teachers, resources, and infrastructure effectively:

# Rugby: Springbok lock Eben Etzebeth will improve to joint tenth in the list of Test veterans when he takes to the field in the Rugby Championship match against Australia at Ellis Park on Saturday. He will increase his all-time South African record to 134 matches, joining Welsh prop Gethin Jenkins. Etzebeth and Lood de Jager will partner in the second row, with Franco Mostert providing cover on the bench. The other members of the bomb squad are Bongi Mbonambi, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Asenathi Ntlabakanye and Kwagga Smith.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-69-cents and the euro at 20-rand-55-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-83-cents and Bitcoin trades at 118-thousand-650-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-349-dollars-62-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 66-dollars-45-cents a barrel.

# And finally: Fourteen-time Grammy Award-winning artist Taylor Swift has surprised fans by announcing that she will release her 12th studio album titled The Life of a Showgirl. The 35-year-old last released a studio album, The Tortured Poets Department, in April last year, which became the best-selling album of the year. She concluded her record-breaking Eras Tour in December. This new album will be Swift’s first release since becoming the proud owner of her entire catalogue of music in May.

Stay tuned for more news………….