News 15:00

BULLETIN 23 December 3 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Bekkersdal tavern shooting death toll rises to ten
# The SIU freezes property linked to late actor Presley Chweneyagae
# And rugby: Siya Kolisi returns to the Stormers from Sharks

# The death toll from the Bekkersdal tavern shooting west of Johannesburg has risen to ten, with ten others wounded. Police say unknown suspects opened fire at patrons at a KwaNoxolo tavern in the early hours of Sunday before fleeing and shooting randomly in nearby streets. An e-hailing driver was among those killed. Seven of the deceased are South Africans and three are from Lesotho. The motive remains unclear. Police say they have identified two of the 12 possible suspects.

# The Special Investigating Unit has secured a preservation order freezing a Pretoria home allegedly bought with misappropriated National Lotteries Commission funds and linked to the late actor Presley Chweneyagae. The order relates to a property in Hesteapark. The SIU alleges nearly 889-thousand-rand used to buy the home was diverted from a 15-million-rand grant meant for youth arts development. Civil proceedings are expected to follow within 60 court days.

# The Eastern Cape’s summer initiation season death toll has reached 20, with the OR Tambo district reporting seven deaths and Amathole five. MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Zolile Williams, confirmed that 13 initiates were legally circumcised and seven illegally. Williams says the government will continue monitoring initiation camps to ensure full compliance with the Customary Initiation Act:

# Soccer: Orlando Pirates coach Abdeslam Ouaddou says the Africa Cup of Nations continues to raise the standard of African soccer. Speaking in Morocco, Ouaddou praised CAF president Patrice Motsepe for improving organisation, facilities and pitch quality across the continent. Ouaddou says these improvements will deliver one of the best AFCON tournaments. He also wished Bafana Bafana and his players well urging them to make their country proud:

# Rugby: Cape Town and Stormers Rugby will welcome back two-time World Cup-winning Springbok captain Siya Kolisi at the conclusion of the season with the Sharks. Stormers Rugby CEO Johan le Roux says Kolisi is a national icon with a strong connection to the Stormers. He is also a family man who wants to be there for his children as much as possible. Kolisi said returning to Cape Town is a significant moment for him and his family. Director of Rugby John Dobson said Kolisi will add value to the squad in ways that no other player could.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-69-cents and the euro at 19-rand-68-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-54-cents and Bitcoin trades at 87-thousand-728-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-483-dollars-23-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 61-dollars-70-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….