News 18:00

BULLETIN 4 June 6 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Kenyan president William Ruto calls for deeper economic cooperation amid global uncertainty
# AfriForum criticises government’s silence on rural violence after ten farm attacks in May
# And, security is tightened for the 37th anniversary of China’s Tiananmen massacre

# Kenyan president William Ruto has called for deeper economic cooperation with South Africa amid global economic uncertainty and weakening multilateralism. Speaking during his State Visit to South Africa, Ruto said the two countries, as major regional economies, have significant opportunities to expand trade, investment and industrialisation. He said the economies are complementary and can unlock greater benefits for their citizens through stronger integration, creating jobs and boosting prosperity across Africa:

# AfriForum says the government is still silent on rural violence despite ten farm attacks reported last month. The organisation states the attacks were extremely violent, with victims assaulted, tied up and in some cases shot, including farm workers in Limpopo. Other incidents were reported in Delmas in Mpumalanga, Stellenbosch in the Western Cape, and De Wildt in North West. AfriForum’s Jacques Broodryk says rural communities remain under serious threat:

# KwaZulu-Natal Hawks Unit Commander Gavin Jacob has told the Madlanga Commission he accepted an instruction to store a large drug seizure at the Port Shepstone Hawks offices because he believed the facility was secure. Responding to evidence leader Mahlape Sello, Jacob said brigadier Msizi Nyuswa described the storage area as a strong room, which he considered adequate. He maintained that he saw nothing unlawful about the instruction:

# Authorities in Beijing and Hong Kong have implemented heightened security measures as China marks the 37th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown. The protests were initially sparked by the death of a pro-reform leader, but students expanded their demands to include freedom of speech and media, democratic reforms, and an end to government corruption. State media reported the known death toll at the time as about 300, mostly soldiers, with only 23 students confirmed killed, but rights groups and witnesses say the figure could run into the thousands.

# Tennis: Flavio Cobolli is throwing everything into the ring in his attempt to win the French Open – including using 14-time Spanish champion Rafael Nadal’s favourite shower at Roland Garros. The tenth-seeded Italian plays his unseeded compatriot, Matteo Arnaldi, in tomorrow’s semifinal for a place in Sunday’s title match. Cobolli beat Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime in the quarterfinals, while Arnaldi advanced when another Italian, Matteo Berrettini, retired hurt. Cobolli admits to being a bit superstitious, saying he uses the same shower, restaurant and menu this week.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-24-cents against the rand and the euro at 18-rand-90-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-85-cents and Bitcoin trades at 64-thousand-141-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-498-dollars-10-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 93-dollars-89-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….