News 14:00

BULLETIN 31 January 2 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The pre-trial hearing in Joslin Smith’s disappearance is postponed to 28 February
# The GOOD Party rejects the narrative that Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla is being charged to settle a political score
# And rugby: Michael Cheika leaves Leicester after only one season

# The pre-trial hearing in the disappearance of Joslin Smith was postponed to the end of next month in the High Court in Cape Town while investigations are ongoing. Only Joslin’s mother, Kelly Smith, was present as her co-accused boyfriend, Jacquen Appollis, and Steveno van Rhyn did not appear due to an administration error. The trio are charged after seven-year-old Joslin’s disappearance outside her home in Saldanha Bay on the West Coast in February last year. Judge Gayaat da Silva Salie ordered the trio to appear on 28 February.

# The GOOD Party says it rejects the narrative that former president Jacob Zuma’s daughter, Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, is being charged to settle a political score. She faces charges of incitement to commit terrorism, and two counts of incitement to commit public violence for her role in the violence experienced in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng during July 2021. GOOD’s secretary general, Brett Herron, says these are serious accusations:

# National Assembly speaker Thoko Didiza has confirmed that the Programming Committee is considering a snap debate on funding and resources for the Defence Force. This follows concerns from political parties after 13 soldiers were killed during a peace mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo in one week. Didiza says MPs agree the matter is urgent and requires immediate attention to address the challenges facing the SANDF:

# Home Affairs minister, Leon Schreiber, says the 2024/’25 festive period saw a far more integrated and coordinated approach to border management than ever before. The minister, together with the Border Management Authority, briefed the media on the impact of festive season operations. From the sixth of December to the 18th of January, the BMA facilitated and managed the legitimate movement of over five-million people across the country’s 71 ports of entry. Schreiber praised the BMA for piloting new technologies:

# Rugby: Former Wallaby head coach Michael Cheika will leave Leicester Tigers at the end of the season. He joined the English Premiership club last year, but decided not to extend his contract. After leaving the Wallabies in 2019, Cheika had two stints in Argentina before moving to the Tigers. CEO Andrea Pinchen says the search for a suitable replacement is underway, with rumours doing the rounds former Leicester prop and head coach of Munster, Graham Rowntree, could be a potential successor.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-63-cents and the euro at 19-rand-33-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-13-cents and Bitcoin trades at 104-thousand-294-dollars. Gold sells at two-thousand-792-dollars-63-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 75-dollars-38-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….