News 06:00

BULLETIN 7 June 6 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# South Africa extends its condolences after a Malawian national died during repatriation
# A third suspect surrenders in the 15-million-rand precious stones case
# And rugby: Rassie wants to give as many players as possible Test experience

# The South African government says it will engage with Malawian authorities through diplomatic channels following the death of a Malawian national during an ongoing repatriation operation. The passenger died on Sunday on a bus travelling to Malawi shortly after leaving the repatriation processing centre in Musina, Limpopo. Government deputy spokesperson William Baloyi says the bus returned to the centre, where police completed the required forensic procedures before the remaining passengers continued their journey home:

# Public Service Commission chairperson, professor Somadoda Fikeni, says there is a need for strategic foresight and effective governance at the State Information Technology Agency. An independent investigation covering the period 2020 to 2025 has found serious weaknesses in spending controls, contract management, and governance. The report found, among other things, that over two-billion-rand in irregular expenditure was flagged by the Auditor-General across four audited years. Fikeni says addressing issues in the report is important to ensure global competitiveness and digital transformation:

# The South African Bookmakers Association says urgent legislative action is needed to tackle illegal offshore gambling. The association has welcomed the National Gambling Board’s efforts to block illegal gambling websites, as the government has laws banning illegal online gambling but lacks effective enforcement. SABA’s Sean Coleman calls for stronger laws, tighter payment controls and better coordination between regulators and law enforcement to protect consumers and curb billions of rand lost to illegal offshore operators each year.

# The Independent Police Investigative Directorate says a third suspect has handed herself over at the Edenvale Police Station in connection with the alleged theft of precious stones worth nearly 15-million-rand from a property in Killarney, Johannesburg. The suspect is expected to appear in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court today. IPID spokesperson Lizzy Suping says three suspects have now been arrested, and the remaining two arrests are imminent:

# Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has warned that Russia will continue to hit residential buildings as long as Patriot defensive missiles remain in allies’ stockpiles. Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, came under a deadly Russian attack early Monday morning, killing at least 15 people, while 56 others were injured. Another six people were killed in the wider Kyiv region, and 21 were injured. Zelensky has urged the US and European allies to leave the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, this week with strong decisions on strengthening Ukraine’s air defences.

# Rugby: Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus says he wants to allow as many players as possible to experience Test rugby. He rang the changes for Saturday’s Nations Championship match against Scotland at Loftus, leaving only five players in the starting 15 that beat England 45-21 at Ellis Park over the weekend. Pieter-Steph du Toit will captain the team again as part of the loose trio with Evan Roos and Paul de Villiers, who made his debut against England. Erasmus says Scotland will be a great test for the Boks’ depth.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-19-cents and the euro at 18-rand-53-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-69-cents and Bitcoin trades at 64-thousand-130-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-167-dollars-15-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 71-dollars-61-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….