News 14:00

BULLETIN 30 January 2 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Zuma’s daughter denies any involvement in the July 2021 unrest
# Rugby: Ntamack returns to the French side for the first time in 17 months
# And Netflix is set to reboot the popular Little House on the Prairie

# Former president Jacob Zuma’s daughter, Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, has denied any involvement in inciting the July 2021 unrest. Appearing in the Durban Magistrate’s Court in KwaZulu-Natal, she called the state’s case baseless, insisting there is no evidence linking her to the violence. Her legal counsel, Dali Mpofu, told the court the accused intends to plead not guilty:

# AfriForum has announced a three-point plan to challenge the Expropriation Act, arguing it threatens private property rights. The plan includes preventing the act’s promulgation, pursuing legal action, and launching an international awareness campaign. AfriForum urged Public Works and Infrastructure minister Dean Macpherson to reject co-signing the act and vowed to challenge its constitutionality in court. AfriForum’s Ernst van Zyl says they will engage international stakeholders to oppose the law:

# Operations at the Groblers Bridge port of entry between Limpopo and Botswana have resumed today. This comes after heavy rainfall caused significant flood damage to infrastructure, necessitating the need for operations to be temporarily suspended. Border Management Authority’s spokesperson, Mmemme Mogotsi, says the necessary repairs have now been completed, and the border post has resumed its critical role of facilitating cross-border movement and trade between South Africa and Botswana:

# Rugby: French flyhalf Romain Ntamack returns to the side for the first time in 17 months. He was included in the team for tomorrow’s Six Nations match against Wales in Paris. Twenty-five-year-old Ntamack sustained a serious knee injury during a warm-up match for 2023’s World Cup and then injured his calf late last year. He and his club-mate at Toulouse, Antoine Dupoint, will be the half-back pairing. Scotland plays Italy in Edinburgh in the first round on Saturday, and Ireland and England will do battle in Dublin.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-49-cents and the euro at 19-rand-25-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-1-cent and Bitcoin trades at 105-thousand-167-dollars. Gold sells at two-thousand-777-dollars-29-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 75-dollars-1-cent a barrel.

# And finally: Netflix is creating a reboot of the beloved show Little House on the Prairie, which is loosely based on the bestselling book series by Laura Ingalls Wilder. More than 73-million copies of the books have been sold to date. The books were first adapted into a popular NBC series which aired for nine seasons between 1974 and ’83. Netflix’s Jinny Howe says they are excited to share the book’s enduring themes of hope and optimism with a fresh take on this iconic story.

Stay tuned for more news………….