News 17:00

BULLETIN 23 July 5 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Solidarity urges Ramaphosa to act as the US trade crisis looms
# The JSE All Share Index reaches a milestone of 100-thousand points
# And tennis: Sinner re-hires the fitness coach he fired after testing positive for a banned substance

# Solidarity says president Cyril Ramaphosa must urgently repair South Africa’s strained relationship with the US. This follows a US congressional bill that could see a 30-percent tariff imposed on South African imports. The union urges the government to reaffirm its non-aligned status and cooperate with the US on key issues, including security, land rights, and farm safety. Solidarity’s Jaco Kleynhans warns failure to act could trigger a severe economic crisis:

# The MK Party has lashed out at the DA, accusing it of being a schizophrenic party that is unsure whether it is part of the government or the opposition. During a debate on the Appropriation Bill in Parliament, the party’s Wesley Douglas criticised high debt repayments and accused the government of national unity of ignoring land reform and black industrialisation. Douglas says the budget favours the rich while citizens continue to suffer:

# Former chief justice Raymond Zondo says South Africa’s fight against corruption cannot succeed without strong protection and incentives for whistleblowers. Speaking at the South African Council of Churches’ Anti-Corruption Conference in Johannesburg, Zondo called for whistleblowers to receive a share of recovered funds if their information aids state recovery. He highlighted the hardships many whistleblowers face, arguing that encouraging truth-telling is not a luxury, it’s a necessity:

# The Johannesburg Stock Exchange’s All Share Index broke through a major milestone of 100-thousand points today. The index is up almost 20-percent this year. JSE Group CEO Leila Fourie says reaching the 100-thousand mark is not just a numerical milestone, but a powerful reflection of the resilience, innovation and operational excellence of companies listed on the JSE. She says it demonstrates that investors continue to place their trust in the South African market and in the ability of listed companies to drive growth and deliver value.

# Tennis: World number one Jannik Sinner is teaming up once again with Umberto Ferrara, the fitness coach he sacked last year after it was revealed the Italian had tested positive for doping. Since the revelation of Sinner’s positive tests for the anabolic steroid clostebol, Sinner has constantly maintained his innocence, laying the blame squarely on his team. Sinner dismissed Ferrara and his physiotherapist, Giacomo Naldi, after the revelation of his positive tests.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-55-cents and the euro at 20-rand-57-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-75-cents and Bitcoin trades at 118-thousand-25-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-410-dollars-1-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 67-dollars-71-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….