News 14:00

BULLETIN 25 July 2 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Minister Ramokgopa urges social protection as an investment in human capital at the G20 meeting
# The MK Party asks Parliament’s speaker for a secret ballot on a motion of no confidence against President Ramaphosa
# And motorsport: Max Verstappen denies that Christian Horner’s exit will influence his future

# Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation minister, Maropene Ramokgopa, has called for global collaboration to improve public services and fund development. Speaking at the G20 Development Working Group Ministerial Meeting in Mpumalanga, she stressed solidarity, financial justice, and people-centred growth. Ramokgopa warned that only 52.4-percent of the global population has social protection and highlighted Africa’s 1.5-trillion-rand annual loss to illicit financial flows. She said development must focus on people, not just policies:

# The MK Party has asked National Assembly speaker, Thoko Didiza, for a secret ballot on the motion of no confidence against president Cyril Ramaphosa. The party says a secret ballot will ensure that members of Parliament can exercise their constitutional duty freely and without fear of intimidation or reprisal. MK’s parliamentary leader, John Hlophe, says this is particularly important given the sensitive nature of the motion and the potential political consequences for individual members. Hlophe says a secret ballot will safeguard the integrity of the voting process.

# Police have arrested 183 rape suspects in nationwide operations this past week, including 67 wanted individuals. In KwaZulu-Natal, a serial rapist pastor, Mandlelisa Mabhale, was sentenced to ten life terms and 70 years for raping minors and exposing children to pornography. Police spokesperson Amanda van Wyk says a 90-day blitz programme is playing a central role in assisting the police to fight this scourge:

Moving abroad: 

# Delegations have arrived at Iran’s consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, this morning for face-to-face talks between Iran and the so-called E3 group of France, Britain and Germany. Reuters reports senior diplomats from the E3 group are set to hold talks with Iran’s negotiating team for the first time since US and Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear sites in June, aiming to gauge Tehran’s appetite for a compromise to avert sanctions. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi says Tehran’s position remained firm and steadfast, emphasising their uranium enrichment will continue.

# Motorsport: Red Bull’s Max Verstappen says the departure of team principal, Christian Horner, won’t influence his Formula One future. Horner was sacked three days after the British Grand Prix and has been replaced by Frenchman Laurent Mekies. The four-time champion is contracted to Red Bull until 2028, but reports have linked him with a potential move to Mercedes next year. Verstappen says he is just focused on this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-73-cents and the euro at 20-rand-80-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-86-cents and Bitcoin trades at 116 thousand-259-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-345-dollars-78-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 68-dollars-56-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….