News 06:00

BULLETIN 10 June 6 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# AfriForum urges John Steenhuisen to honour his promise to Donald Trump on farm attacks
# The judge in the Senzo Meyiwa trial is willing to recuse himself
# And cricket: Experts say Australia is the favourite against South Africa in the World Test Championship

# AfriForum has called on Agriculture minister John Steenhuisen to honour his promise to the US to prioritise farm attacks. The civil rights group says Steenhuisen’s remarks to president Donald Trump about declaring farm attacks and stock theft priority crimes, must be followed by urgent action. AfriForum’s Jacques Broodryk warns that failure to do so amounts to gross misrepresentation. He insists rural crimes deserve the same attention as other priority crimes including rhino poaching:

# Corruption Watch says the legacy of National Prosecuting Authority head, Shamila Batohi, remains uncertain with just ten months left in her tenure. Corruption Watch’s Karam Singh believes this is Batohi’s chance to boldly address Parliament, highlight systemic challenges, and push for reforms like anti-corruption courts. Singh stressed to Newzroom Afrika the importance of innovation, transparency, asset recovery, and accountability in fighting corruption beyond prosecutions He called for stronger leadership:

# The African Transformation Movement has appointed Caesar Nongqunga as its new president, succeeding Vuyo Zungula. Zungula, who led the party since 2018, will remain as party leader in Parliament. The ATM praised Zungula’s pivotal role in shaping the party. Nongqunga brings decades of leadership and community service experience. The party says separating parliamentary and organisational leadership will strengthen its growth and impact as it enters a new era of transformation.

# The presiding judge in the Senzo Meyiwa trial says he is willing to recuse himself if the lawyers in the case believe he is biased. This comes after Judge Ratha Mokgoatlheng issued an apology on Monday, following a backlash over his remarks in the courtroom last week. This included references to black legal professionals, with some labelling the remarks as racially charged. Mokgoatlheng says he acknowledges that his conduct was questionable and incorrect:

# Israeli left-wing opposition leader Yair Golan has called for an immediate end to the Gaza war and said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government no longer represented most Israelis. Golan’s party, a conglomeration of left-wing factions, has only four seats in Israel’s 120-member legislature, making it one of its smallest political groups. But in a country where coalition building is essential to achieving a political majority, even relatively small parties can wield considerable power.

# Cricket: Experts put their money on defending champion Australia to beat South Africa in the final of the World Test Championship, starting at Lord’s in London tomorrow. Both teams haven’t played Test cricket for months. Former England captain Michael Vaughan said earlier the Proteas reached the final by beating pretty much nobody, while the lop-sided schedule posted Australia against much stronger teams. Kagiso Rabada will lead South Africa’s seam attack, with coach Shukri Conrad describing the encounter as the biggest thing in the team’s existence.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-72-cents and the euro at 20-rand-25-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-2-cents and Bitcoin trades at 109-thousand-939-dollar-79-cents. Gold sells at three-thousand-324-dollars-66-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 67-dollars-5-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….