News 18:00

BULLETIN 27 January 6 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Western Cape High Court dismisses eight charges against an alleged Cape Town underworld leader
# A new e-hailing services faces a legal challenge for requiring Afrikaans proficiency from its drivers
# And rugby: The former Bok Frans Steyn is expected to be named the Cheetahs’ new Currie Cup head coach

# The Western Cape High Court has dismissed eight out of 124 charges against alleged underworld leader Nafiz Modack and his 14 co-accused. Judge Robert Henney ruled that the trial for the murder of top police investigator Charl Kinnear and the attempted murder of lawyer William Booth continue. The National Prosecuting Authority’s Western Cape spokesperson, Eric Ntabazalila, says they are accused of murder, gang activities, and money laundering:

# A Pretoria-based e-hailing service is under scrutiny for requiring Afrikaans proficiency from its 90 drivers. While the app called Wanatu, which is a play on the Afrikaans expression Waarnatoe? offers English for users, critics argue the driver language policy may violate South Africa’s equality laws. Legal experts cite constitutional protection against discrimination unless language requirements are essential for job performance. Wanatu, which grew from ten-thousand to 30-thousand registrations in months, insists its policy preserves Afrikaans heritage.

# The chairperson of Parliament’s portfolio committee on Defence and Military Veterans, Dakota Legoete, has refuted claims that South African troops in the Democratic Republic of Congo lack resources. This follows the loss of nine soldiers in Goma. Legoete has deemed opposition calls to recall peacekeepers premature and praised their sacrifices. He highlights the mission’s role in regional stability:

# Investigators have found evidence of a bird strike on a passenger plane that crashed in South Korea last month, killing 179 people. According to a preliminary investigation report, the feathers and blood stains on both engines of the Jeju Air plane were from the Baikal teal, a type of migratory duck that flies in large flocks. The inquiry into the crash, the deadliest on South Korean soil, will now focus on the role of the bird strike and a concrete structure at the end of the runway, into which the plane crashed.

# Rugby: Two-time World Cup winning Springbok Frans Steyn is expected to take over as head coach of the Cheetahs’ Currie Cup team. This follows after the Free State team failed to reach the playoffs of the Challenge Cup competition for the first time in three years. According to reports, two other former South African internationals, Ruan Pienaar and Tiaan Liebenberg, will assist Steyn. Thirty-seven-year-old Steyn was part of the Boks’ World Cup winning squads in 2007 and 2019. He played 78 Tests between 2006 and 2022.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-70-cents and the euro at 19-rand-67-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-38-cents and Bitcoin trades at 100-thousand-370-dollars. Gold sells at two-thousand-751-dollars-88-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 77-dollars-15-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….