In a surprise effort, South African Kevin Anderson has advanced to the US Open quarter-finals. Anderson defeated Italy’s Paolo Lorenzi 6-4, 6-3, 6-7 (4/7), 6-4 on Sunday. This is Anderson’s second US Open quarter-final, with his last showing being in 2015. He will now face either Sam Querrey or Mischa Zverev.

China’s President Xi Jinping will open the Brics annual summit today. It is being hosted in Xiamen, China and the main challenge of the summit will be to assuage prevailing perceptions of a general drifting apart of the emerging economies. In the shadow of a massive hydrogen bomb test by North Korea, however, South Africa’s foreign mission might well be offering a free hotel stay for Kim Jong Un, given our present policy track record.

The United States has warned that it could launch a “massive military response” in reaction to a hydrogen bomb test by Pyongyang. Defence Secretary James Mattis stated that: “Any threat to the United States or its territories, including Guam, or our allies will be met with a massive military response, a response both effective and overwhelming.”

A drag racing event in Alice Springs turned very ugly on Sunday. One person was critically injured and 11 others wounded after a car competing in the event sprayed burning fuel over the spectators. The “Ultimate Festival of Wheels” became something resembling the Ultimate Disaster by Wheels, with organisers shutting down the event after the disaster.

Weather
BFN: min: 7° max 26°, cloudy
CPT: min: 13° max: 27°,  cloudy
DBN: min: 14° max: 24°, sunny
EL: min: 19° max: 28°, sunny
JHB: min: 8° max: 25°, sunny
KIM: min: 7° max: 23°, sunny
NLP: min: 12° max: 27°, sunny
MHK: min: 9° max: 28°, sunny
PMB: min: 11° max: 19°, sunny
PE: min: 10° max: 18°, sunny
PTA: min: 11° max: 29°, sunny

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