News 09:00

BULLETIN 9 June 9 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Minister Mchunu withdraws the advertisement for a new Hawks head
# A police sergeant is arrested in connection with the kidnapping of a teenager
# And the US and China are going to meet for a new round of trade talks

# Police minister Senzo Mchunu has withdrawn an advertised post for the new head of the Hawks. Former head Godfrey Lebeya retired last month, ending his seven years in the job. Mchunu told News24 that he decided to withdraw the post after weighing the short-term instability of an acting Hawks head against the importance of appointing the best person. He adds that he wants more people to apply and more depth to the pool, considering the seriousness of the position.

# The DA has accused minister of Defence and Military Veterans, Angie Motshekga, of sabotage for derailing a critical parliamentary oversight session at the Simon’s Town Dockyard. The party’s Chris Hattingh says the meeting was intended to address the long-standing conflict between the South African Navy and Armscor over stalled naval contracts, poor dockyard performance, and a deepening maintenance backlog. He says the minister failed to attend, citing a Border Management Authority meeting:

# A 42-year-old police sergeant has been arrested in connection with the kidnapping of 19-year-old Kamogelo Baukudi in the Free State. The teenager was kidnapped last Thursday after he was collected from school by two unknown men wearing police uniforms. Police spokesperson, Motantsi Makhele, says the arrest was made after the vehicle used to abduct Baukudi was linked to the officer. He adds that the suspect is expected to appear in the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court today:

# A US delegation led by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick will be meeting with Chinese officials in London today, in a new round of talks aimed at resolving the trade war between the world’s two biggest economies. A 90-day trade agreement earlier this month saw the US temporarily lowering its overall tariffs on Chinese goods from 145-percent to 30-percent, while China cut its levies on American imports from 125-percent to ten-percent. The agreement also gave both sides a 90-day deadline to try to reach a trade deal.

# Motorsport: Six-time MotoGP champion, Marc Marquez, has extended his lead at the top of the riders’ championship following his victory at the Aragon Grand Prix in Spain, his fourth win of the season. His younger brother Alex settled for a second-place finish in the race after holding off Francesco Bagnaia, who finished third. South Africa’s Brad Binder crashed out while hunting a podium finish. Marquez, who has a 32-point lead over his brother, says this was a perfect weekend for him:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-77-cents and the euro at 20-rand-28-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-8-cents and Bitcoin trades at 105-thousand-74-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-311-dollars-35-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 66-dollars-10-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….