News 13:00

BULLETIN 30 July 1 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Fifteen Western nations call on countries to recognise a Palestinian state
# Solidarity welcomes a US report on farm attacks
# And cricket: Huge uncertainty over the semifinal between India and Pakistan in the World Championship of Legends

# Fifteen Western nations called on countries worldwide to recognise a Palestinian state. Their Foreign ministers issued a joint statement following a conference in New York aimed at reviving a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians. French president Emmanuel Macron announced last week he would formally recognise Palestinian statehood in September, provoking strong opposition from Israel and the United States. British prime minister Keir Starmer announced the UK will formally recognise Palestine in September unless Israel takes various substantive steps, including agreeing to a ceasefire in Gaza.

Meanwhile, South Africa’s minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ronald Lamola, says the country is anti-war and prefers dialogue over violence. He told the conference there cannot be peace while the very existence of the Palestinian people is being threatened by Israel’s continued genocidal actions in Gaza:

# Solidarity welcomes the US government’s acknowledgement of the brutality and uniqueness of farm attacks in South Africa. This follows an investigation by the US State Department’s Bureau for Democracy, Human Rights and Labour. It found that farm attacks are not ordinary crimes, but in certain documented cases, victims are tortured or murdered without anything being stolen. Solidarity’s Jaco Kleynhans says most countries and the mainstream media worldwide have long chosen to deny the problem:

# The Ministry of Electricity and Energy is hosting the third meeting of the G20 Energy Transitions Working Group at the Sun City Resort in North West. The three-day meeting is part of South Africa’s broader G20 engagements, which include advancing policy coordination on sustainable energy, infrastructure development, and climate resilience. Topics under discussion include strategic partnerships to finance energy efficiency in Africa, nuclear energy for Africa and small modular reactors, and accelerating sustainable future fuels and materials.

# Cricket: South Africa and Australia will meet in the one semifinal of the World Championship of Legends in England, but there is huge uncertainty over the other match between arch enemies India and Pakistan. Their group match had been cancelled earlier after some Indian players refused to play over the recent border clashes. An Indian sponsor has also withdrawn from the semifinal, saying terror and cricket cannot go hand in hand. South Africa, captained by AB de Villiers, and Australia will face off at Edgbaston tomorrow.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-85-cents and the euro at 20-rand-62-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-86-cents and Bitcoin trades at 118-thousand-281-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-331-dollars-98-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 71-dollars-19-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….