News 15:00

BULLETIN 5 June 3 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# More than two-thousand-341 kidnapping cases were recorded in Gauteng between January and March this year
# Tennis: It’s women’s semi-finals day at the French Open with lots of local interest
# And: The German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is to meet with president Trump today

# Gauteng provincial police commissioner, Tommy Mthombeni says a total of two-thousand-341  kidnapping cases were recorded from January and March this year. He says this is an increase of 15.8-percent. Mthombeni says through the national police anti-kidnapping unit, the province has arrested 88 suspects linked to 62 cases of kidnapping and rescued 77 victims of kidnapping during the period under review:  

# Renowned photographer, activist, and jazz promoter Rashid Lombard will be buried in Cape Town today. Lombard passed away yesterday at the age of 74. He was celebrated for his contribution to South African jazz and for documenting key moments in the country’s history. Lombard documented pivotal moments in the country’s struggle for freedom, including the release of late former president Nelson Mandela in 1990. Lombard received the National Order of Ikhamanga in 2014. He has been recognised as a cultural icon.

# Environmental group, the Green Connection says it remains committed to challenging companies that pollute the environment, especially in the mining sector. Marking World Environment Day, the organisation says that South Africans have a right to a clean and healthy environment. The group’s Lisa Makaula urges the government to invest in renewable energy, protect coastal livelihoods, and ensure that communities are included in environmental decision-making:

# Tennis: The French fairytale for 22-year old world number 361 Lois Boisson continues today after she beat six seed Mirra Andreeva 7-6, 6-3 yesterday, to reach the semi-finals of the French Open. She faces second seed Coco Gauff in today’s first semi-final. In the other semi-final top-seed Aryna Sabalenka faces fifth seed Iga Swiatek. Poland’s Swiatek leads the overall head-to-head 8-4, and the clay-court head-to-head 5-1. This will be their first-ever meeting at Roland Garros. Swiatek has not lost in 26 consecutive matches at the French Open.

# Financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-74-cents and the euro at 20-rand-25-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-1-cent and Bitcoin trades at 104-thousand-870-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-394-dollars-11-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 64-dollars-84-cents a barrel.

# And finally: German chancellor Friedrich Merz is set to meet with US president Donald Trump today, hoping to build a personal relationship despite discord over Ukraine and the threat of a trade war. A month into his job, the conservative Merz will hope that his pledges to sharply increase Germany’s NATO defence spending will please Trump, and that he can find common ground on confronting Russia after the unpredictable US president voiced growing frustration with president Vladimir Putin.

Stay tuned for more news………….