News 11:00

BULLETIN 25 September 11 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Lamola says Israel’s conduct in Gaza constitutes genocide
# My Vote Counts asks political parties to disclose coalition plans ahead of the elections
# And rugby: Vermeulen says Boks are not taking one-off Test against Australia lightly

# Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ronald Lamola, says Israel’s continued violations of international and humanitarian law constitute genocide. He addressed the United Nations General Assembly in New York. South Africa instituted proceedings against Israel in the International Court of Justice in December 2023, alleging violations of its obligations under the Genocide Convention in relation to Palestinians in Gaza. Lamola emphasised the country remains steadfast in its view that the international community must act decisively to end this impunity:

Lamola also says restoring trust in multilateralism will not happen without meaningful reform of global governance, principally the United Nations Security Council. He called for Africa to have a permanent seat at the council. Lamola says Africa is home to nearly one-fifth of the world’s population, and African countries together account for more than a quarter of UN member states:

# Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Parks Tau, says South Africa is ready to engage with US companies looking for secure sources of critical minerals and industrial inputs. He participated in the Critical Minerals Roundtable in New York. Tau has proposed the establishment of a South Africa–US Critical Minerals Working Group. He says South Africa can contribute mineral resources, processing capability, industrial infrastructure, and access to regional value chains, while US companies can bring capital, technology, markets, industrial expertise, and long-term demand.

# My Vote Counts has asked 20 political parties to tell voters how they will approach coalition negotiations before and after the local government elections. The number of hung councils more than doubled from 27 after the 2016 elections to 66 following the 2021 elections. My Vote Counts says voters should not have to vote for one party and discover only after the election their vote has helped produce a governing arrangement they would never have supported. It adds transparent agreements are central to accountable coalitions.

# Rugby: Springbok assistant coach Duane Vermeulen has dismissed suggestions head coach Rassie Erasmus’s 13 changes to the starting team for the one-off Test against the Wallabies is a sign of disrespect. South Africa head into the Perth Test on Sunday off the back of a demanding four-match series against the All Blacks. Australia is ranked seventh in the world, but unbeaten under new coach Les Kiss. Vermeulen expects the Wallabies to bring plenty of intensity to the contest, while challenging the Bok pack:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-36 and the euro at 18-rand-63. One British pound costs 21-rand-64-cents and Bitcoin trades at 84-thousand-834-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-276-dollars-90-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 103-dollars-72-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….