News 15:00

BULLETIN 20 December 3 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Life insurers tighten controls amid murder-for-money scams
# New measures are in place to ease the Lebombo border congestion
# And tennis: The United Cup is to introduce tactical time-outs in mixed doubles matches

# Life insurance companies are tightening controls to combat rising murder-for-money scams, where victims are killed for fraudulent insurance payouts. According to News24, measures include stricter underwriting processes, limits on third-party policies, and the use of artificial intelligence and data analytics to detect suspicious claims. A former police member, Rachel Kutumela, her daughter, and her sister are facing charges in Limpopo for allegedly killing multiple people for ten-million-rand in payouts. The industry is working with police and financial regulators to stop these crimes.

# The Border Management Authority says plans are in place to tackle traffic congestion at the Lebombo border post in Mpumalanga. Commissioner Michael Masiapato told Newzroom Afrika South African and Mozambican officials will collaborate, while deployment of drones will commence for the first time after being launched by Home Affairs minister Leon Schreiber. Masiapato says political unrest and illegal migration remain key concerns and is being monitored:

The Western Cape has recorded 56 fatal crashes between the second and 15th of this month, resulting in 62 deaths. This marks a concerning rise in fatalities and reflects a broader national trend. To enhance road safety, 85 national traffic officials have been deployed. The province’s MEC for Mobility, Isaac Sileku, urges road users to follow traffic laws and be mindful of safety as traffic volumes are expected to peak:

# Russian missiles have injured people and damaged buildings in two Ukrainian cities. Officials say two people were injured after explosions were reported in the capital of Kiev this morning. According to the Air Force, the city’s air defences were engaged in repelling other missiles fired from Russia. In president Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s hometown, Kryvyi Rih, a missile attack struck and badly damaged a two-storey building, injuring six people. More than 20 vehicles were also damaged, while patients had to be transferred from a hospital.

# Tennis: The United Cup team competition in Australia will be the first tournament to introduce tactical time-outs in mixed doubles matches. A player or captain may call a one minute time-out to discuss strategy by pressing a red buzzer, once in a match. The rule may only be used while the specific player is serving. Eighteen mixed teams will play in the tournament in Perth and Sydney from next Friday as a precursor for the Australian Open, starting in Melbourne on the 12th of January.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-39-cents and the euro at 19-rand-5-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-98-cents and Bitcoin trades at 93-thousand-965-dollars. Gold sells at two-thousand-601-dollars-2-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 71-dollars-69-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….