News 15:00

BULLETIN 31 July 3 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# South Africa’s population hits 63-million with the female population at 51-percent
# Iran declares three days of mourning for the assassinated Hamas chief
# And, cricket: The Proteas start their warm-up match ahead of the Windies Test series

# According to Statistics South Africa, the mid-year population for this year is estimated at 63-million, with females comprising 51-percent. Gauteng has the largest population share at 25.1-percent, while the Northern Cape has the smallest at 2.2-percent. About 27.5-percent are under 15-years-old, and 9.7-percent are 60-years or older. The HIV prevalence rate is 12.7-percent, with around eight-million people living with HIV. Stats SA’s Diego Iturralde says significant migration is anticipated in Gauteng and Western Cape by 2026:  

# The South African Reserve Bank will finalise the transfer of 100-billion-rand of profits from the nation’s gold and foreign exchange reserves to the Treasury by mid-August. According to governor Lesetja Kganyago, as of 1 July, 75-billion-rand had already been transferred. He says this move aims to restructure reserves and reduce debt issuance.

# The South African National Roads Agency is making progress on a four-billion-rand project to upgrade the Huguenot Tunnel’s north bore in the Du Toitskloof mountains in the Boland. This will see a second road being built that will result in vehicles travelling through the Huguenot Tunnel funnelled on two separate one-way roads. Sanral says the project is still in the design phase, but the next few months should see the issuing of tenders and the arrival of contractors on site.

# Iran has declared three days of mourning following the killing of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in an attack blamed on arch-foe Israel. Russia condemned the killing, warning it could trigger a fresh round of escalation in the Middle East. Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned what he called the perfidious assassination of his close ally and brother. While Hamas is viewed by the United States, the European Union and Israel as a terrorist organisation, Erdogan described it as a liberation movement.

# Cricket: The Proteas are starting their warm-up match against a West Indies Invitational eleven in Trinidad and Tobago today ahead of their two-Test series. The Windies have just returned from a Test series in England, while most of the South Africans have not played the longest format in the last six months. Pace bowler Kagiso Rabada says it is an important warm-up game:

# And, the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-20-cents and the euro at 19-rand-73-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-39-cents and Bitcoin trades at 66-thousand-99-dollars-3-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-420-dollars-40-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 80-dollars-29-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….