News 07:00
BULLETIN 20 June 7 am
Good morning. I am……..
In this bulletin:
# The planned arrests of Crime Intelligence bosses are halted over national security concerns
# A foreign national is killed in a suspected xenophobic attack in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal
# And rugby: Leinster retain the United Rugby Championship crown with a dominant win over the Bulls
# The planned arrest of Crime Intelligence head Dumisani Khumalo and the head of Intelligence Analysis, major-general Nozipho Madondo have been called off due to national security concerns. The pair were due to hand themselves in at the Brooklyn Police Station in Pretoria yesterday on fraud-related charges, but the process was halted because Khumalo is involved in monitoring anti-immigrant protests linked to the March and March movement. Spokesperson for the NPA’s Investigating Directorate Against Corruption, Kaizer Kanyago, explains:
# KwaZulu-Natal police confirmed that a 29-year-old foreign national was killed in suspected xenophobic attack at the Joe Jika informal settlement in Pietermaritzburg yesterday. Police spokesperson, Robert Netshiunda says the deceased was allegedly attacked by a group of people at Sable Flats Manor but managed to escape and fled to the informal settlement. He says the deceased slipped into a river and was found on the river bed with severe head injuries. He adds that the circumstances that led to the attack and the subsequent death are under investigation.
# AfriForum says the South African Police Service’s silence on the state of its reservist programme raises serious concerns about its commitment to fighting crime. The organisation says SAPS has failed to respond to information requests for more than a year regarding recruitment, training and active reservists. AfriForum’s Jacques Broodryk has urged acting minister of Police Firoz Cachalia to be transparent and urgently strengthen the reservist system:
# Statistics South Africa says retail trade sales increased by 1.3-percent in April, driven mainly by gains in other retailers, furniture and appliance stores, and general dealers. Sales also rose by 0.9-percent month-on-month, continuing a recovery after a decline in February. Stats SA’s Raquel Floris says over the three months to April, retail sales were up by 1.8-percent compared to the same period last year:
# Sri Lanka is battling the worst outbreak of mosquito-borne dengue fever in years, with more than 44-thousand cases and 28 deaths recorded since January. An official said it is putting public hospitals under strain. Dengue is common during Sri Lanka’s monsoon season, but unplanned urbanisation and damage caused by Cyclone Ditwah worsened the outbreak this year. The National Dengue Control Unit said with 51-thousand cases recorded in the whole of last year, the rate of infections has risen sharply. The unit expects infections to increase for at least two more weeks.
# And, rugby: Leinster retained their 2026 United Rugby Championship crown with a dominant 36-7 victory over the Bulls at a packed Croke Park stadium in Dublin last night. An early yellow card for the Bulls allowed the home team to assert total control, surging to a 22-0 lead in the first half via tries by Tommy O’Brien, Rieko Ioane, and Jack Conan. A try by Ruan Nortje was dis-allowed due to a forward pass and the Bulls’ only points came from a try by Canan Moodie converted by Handré Pollard.
Stay tuned for more news………….