News 16:00

BULLETIN 7 May 4 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Police ministry will attend the official funerals of the constables who died in the Hennops River
# Athletics: Team SA eyes a podium finish at the World Athletics Relays in China
# And Charles and Camilla’s official coronation portrets are unveiled

# The Ministry of Police will attend the official funerals of Free State constables Boipelo Senoge, Cebekhulu Linda, and Keamogetswe Buys, whose bodies were recovered from the Hennops River in Centurion last week. Senoge’s funeral will take place at St Peter’s Anglican Church in Mangaung tomorrow, while Linda’s funeral takes place at St Rose Catholic Church on Friday, and Buys’ at Grasslands Community Hall in Bloemfontein on Saturday. A joint memorial service was also held in Bloemfontein yesterday to honour their service and sacrifice.

# National police commissioner Fannie Masemola has appealed for public assistance in the search for missing journalist Sibusiso Ndlovu and his partner, Zodwa Mdhluli. The couple disappeared on 18 February after leaving their home in Mpumalanga. Police have reclassified the case as kidnapping and hijacking and arrested suspects are expected in the KwaMhlanga Magistrates’ Court today. Masemola says community cooperation is crucial to bringing the couple home safely:

# China has vowed to defend justice in upcoming trade talks with the United States, their first since Donald Trump unveiled sweeping tariffs that shook global markets. Since the US president returned to the White House in January, his administration has imposed tariffs totalling 145-percent on goods from China. Beijing has retaliated with 125-percent levies on imports from the United States. Treasury secretary Scott Bessent and US trade representative Jamieson Greer will attend the talks in Switzerland on behalf of the United States.

# Athletics: Team South Africa is confident ahead of the World Athletics Relays in Guangzhou, China, this weekend. Athletics SA has selected 19 elite sprinters, with a sharp focus on baton exchanges and race tactics. A full women’s relay team will debut, aiming to make history. Captains Zeney Geldenhuys and Zakithi Nene say the squad is ready to qualify for the World Championships in Tokyo. The 25-member team departs for China this afternoon.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-29-cents and the euro at 20-rand-78-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-42-cents and Bitcoin trades at 97-thousand-66-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-389-dollars-86-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 62-dollars-34-cents a barrel.

# And finally: Portraits of King Charles and Queen Camilla, commissioned to commemorate their coronation in 2023, have been unveiled. The two full-length paintings were made by artists Peter Kuhfeld and Paul Benny, respectively. The portraits will be hung in the National Gallery until June fifth before being moved to Buckingham Palace’s Throne Room. Benny says the whole process took two years:

Stay tuned for more news………….