News 16:00

BULLETIN 25 August 4 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Two men are shot dead outside a Cape Town police station
# Minister of Tourism Patricia de Lille launches an execution laboratory with the private sector
# And tennis: Jannik Sinner has to beat Carlos Alcaraz in New York to remain the world number one

# Two men were shot dead outside Mitchell’s Plain police station in Cape Town this morning. Authorities have urged the public to avoid the area as investigations continue. Video footage shows the victims lying outside the station. The circumstances surrounding the incident remain unclear, and it is not yet known if arrests have been made. The shooting comes after several Cape Town communities were rocked by deadly gun violence over the weekend with five people confirmed dead.

# Tourism minister Patricia de Lille says the new tourism execution laboratory is a joint effort between government and the private sector to attract 15-million visitors by 2030, drive job creation, and grow tourism’s gross domestic product contribution. Speaking in Kempton Park in Gauteng, De Lille announced that the electronic travel authorisation system will start next month, improving air access and diversifying products from heritage and township experiences to wellness tourism:

Moving abroad:

# At least 15 people have been killed in Israeli airstrikes on a hospital in southern Gaza. The Hamas-run health ministry says on social media statement there had been two strikes. The first targeted the fourth floor of the Nasser Hospital, with the second taking place as ambulance crews tried to retrieve the injured and dead. Meanwhile news broadcaster Al Jazeera confirmed its cameraman Mohammed Salama is among at least three journalists killed in the strike. Palestinian health officials say one of the journalists worked for the Reuters news agency.

# Tennis: The duel between Italian Jannik Sinner and Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz is heating up, with Sinner having to beat Alcaraz at the US Open to retain his number one world ranking. They have won the past seven Grand Slam tournaments between them and had become the Big Two of the current generation. Sinner lost many ranking points when he retired during the Cincinnati Open final against Alcaraz. Both play their first matches at Flushing Meadows in New York tomorrow, and could only meet in the final.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-56-cents and the euro at 20-rand-54-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-72-cents and Bitcoin trades at 111-thousand-538-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-368-dollars-65-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 67-dollars-57-cents a barrel. 

# And finally: The 2025 Chenin Blanc top ten challenge winners have been announced and will be showcased at ProWine Shanghai, China, later this year. Once again, Stellenbosch dominates, with four wines among the top ten. Three of the four are from Stellenrust Wines, the most consistent winner in the history of the competition. Sponsor Standard Bank’s Agribusiness head, Brendan Jacobs, says South Africa and France account for over 80-percent of all chenin vineyards worldwide:

Stay tuned for more news………….