News 09:00

BULLETIN 21 July 9 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The ANC welcomes the International Court of Justice’s ruling on Israel’s occupation
# The Black Business Federation urges Ramaphosa to amend inequality policies
# And, motorsport: Norris is on pole in an all McLaren front row at the Hungarian Grand Prix

# The ANC has welcomed the International Court of Justice’s advisory ruling that Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem is unlawful, including its settlement activities. ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula supports the advisory’s call for an end to impunity against Palestinians, urging Israel to leave and make reparations. He reaffirmed the ANC’s support for the Palestinian people and called for an end to the conflict:

# The Black Business Federation has urged president Cyril Ramaphosa to abolish or amend policies that maintain inequalities between established white-owned businesses and black-owned SMEs. This follows Ramaphosa’s Parliament address prioritising job creation and poverty reduction. The federation’s president Malusi Zondi stated that emerging businesses cannot compete with those having decades of experience. He emphasised the need for policy amendments to ensure fair competition and welcomed the continuation of Black Economic Empowerment programmes to support inclusive economic growth.

# The Western Cape Department of Water and Sanitation is monitoring rapidly rising dam levels due to recent heavy rains. Dam levels are expected to reach full capacity by the end of winter. Provincial head Ntombizanele Bila-Mupariwa urged the public to heed flooding warnings for safety. She says the department is working closely with municipalities to manage water resources effectively:

# Businesses and services around the world are slowly recovering after a massive IT outage affected computer systems for hours on Thursday and Friday. Businesses, banks, hospitals and airlines were among the worst-hit after cyber-security firm CrowdStrike issued a faulty software update which affected Microsoft Windows. Although a fix had been issued, CrowdStrike admitted it could be some time before all systems were back up and running. The global chaos has sparked concern over the vulnerability of the world’s interconnected technologies, and the extent to which a single software glitch could have such widespread impact.

# And, motorsport: Lando Norris is on pole for the Hungarian Grand Prix today ahead of Oscar Piastri, as McLaren celebrated their first front row lock-out in over a decade. Red Bull’s three-time world champion Max Verstappen took third in qualifying to start the race on the second row with the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz for company. Lewis Hamilton is on the third row after the fifth fastest time ahead of Charles Leclerc in the other Ferrari. Verstappen leads Norris by 84 points in the driver’s championship, going into today’s race at the Hungaroring.

Stay tuned for more news………….