News 15:00

BULLETIN NEWS AGENCY 30 August 3 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Automobile Association predicts another fuel decrease next week
# The Cradock Four inquest is postponed to next week
# And, tennis: The first second-round Grand Slam exit for Alcaraz since 2021

# The Automobile Association says fuel prices across the broad will decrease in September for the fourth consecutive month. The AA’s Eleanor Mavimbela says unaudited data from the Central Energy Fund is showing that 95 unleaded petrol is set to drop by around 94-cent per litre, and 93 unleaded petrol by around 86-cent per litre. She says the wholesale price of diesel is expected to decrease by around 76-cents per litre, while the cost of illuminating paraffin will drop by almost 1-rand-1-cent per litre:

# The long-awaited reopening of the inquest into the 1985 murders of the anti-apartheid activists, the Cradock Four, is expected to commence at the High Court in Gqeberha next week. The delay stems from the legal teams of former police and Army witnesses, who cited insufficient preparation time and lack of state funding. The families, seeking justice almost 40 years later, expressed frustration over yet another setback in the case.

# The City of Johannesburg’s Department for Environment and Infrastructure Services has proposed establishing a unified forum to tackle illegal mining. The department’s representative, Cleopatra Mputle, highlights the need for a comprehensive illegal mining policy, involving internal and external stakeholders. The initiative aims to address infrastructure damage and the financial strain caused by illegal mining activities, with a focus on law enforcement, mine closure, and rehabilitation efforts.

# Tennis: Carlos Alcaraz’s early exit from the US Open is his first loss in the second round of a Grand Slam tournament since Wimbledon in 2021, when he was still the world number 75. The world number three was beaten in straight sets by unsung Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp at Flushing Meadows. The Spaniard was seen as one of the favourites after winning the French Open and Wimbledon, but couldn’t find his feet in the Arthur Ashe Stadium:

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-62-cents and the euro at 19-rand-53-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-22-cents and Bitcoin trades at 59-thousand-474-dollars-23-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-519-dollars-46-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 79-dollars-4-cents a barrel.

# And, finally: A Competition Commission survey has highlighted that while South Africa’s renewable energy products market is competitive, affordability remains a barrier, especially for small and medium enterprises. Despite increasing demand from 2021 to 2023, 60-percent of consumers find prices unaffordable, and 45-percent of businesses report high costs. Solar PV panels are the least accessible, with SMEs struggling to afford them. The survey urges improved funding options and incentives to enhance access and support the sector’s growth.

Stay tuned for more news………….