News 08:00

BULLETIN 6 June 8 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Minister Steenhuisen announces a mass bird flu vaccination
# Eleven police officers killed during the first quarter in Gauteng
# And Donald Trump says he is disappointed in Elon Musk’s criticism

# Agriculture minister John Steenhuisen has announced the first mass vaccination of poultry in South Africa to protect the local flock from bird flu. Fifty animal health technicians have been appointed on short-term contracts to help with the vaccination rollout. Meanwhile, Steenhuisen says his department has also procured vaccines from Botswana for 72-million-rand to combat foot-and-mouth disease. He says this will cover the KwaZulu Natal area, while assessment, as well as forward and backward tracing of the outbreak in Gauteng, is ongoing:

# Finance deputy minister, Ashor Sarupen, has welcomed the recommendations of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development Economic Survey, saying South Africa is already working towards achieving sustainable public finances. The survey is an independent and internationally peer-reviewed assessment of the country’s macroeconomic trends, structural reforms, and policy challenges. It suggested, among other recommendations, that the country introduce stricter spending controls, reinforce spending rules and improve governance. Sarupen says the state is currently consulting on options for a formal fiscal anchor to manage its finances more efficiently.

# Gauteng Police Commissioner Tommy Mthombeni has revealed that eleven police officers were killed in the province during the first quarter of 2025. One police member was killed while on duty, and ten were off-duty. Investigations into the killings are being led by the Hawks. Mthombeni says so far, five suspects have been arrested during this period for their involvement in the murders, while investigators are hard at work following leads to trace more suspects. He adds that they will not be deterred in their work to keep communities safe.

# US president Donald Trump says he is surprised and disappointed with Elon Musk after the tech billionaire publicly criticised his massive tax and spending bill. Musk has strongly condemned what Trump calls his “big, beautiful bill” that has passed the House, calling the legislation outrageous and a disgusting abomination. The bill includes multi-trillion-dollar tax breaks. Trump says Musk knew every aspect of the bill and never objected to anything:

# Tennis: World number one Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus and American Coco Gauff will be seeking their maiden French Open title when they clash in the final on Saturday. Sabalenka earned a 7-6, 4-6, 6-0 win over four-time champion Iga Swiatek of Poland, while Gauff ended French wildcard Lois Boisson’s incredible run with a 6-1, 6-2 victory. Sabalenka is the first woman to reach three consecutive Grand Slam finals since Serena Williams in 2016. She says winning the trophy will mean everything:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-74-cents and the euro at 20-rand-30-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-8-cents and Bitcoin trades at 102-thousand-346-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-366-dollars-79-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 64-dollars-89-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….