News 15:00

BULLETIN 22 December 3 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Police arrest a suspect in Saulsville tavern mass shooting
# A church leader facing bribe charges denied bail
# And, flooding wreaks havoc on KZN South Coast as businesses and homes are affected

# Police have arrested a 32-year-old man linked to the 6 December mass shooting at an illegal tavern in Saulsville, Pretoria, which left 12 dead and 13 injured. The suspect was intercepted while travelling from Gauteng to Limpopo with an unlicensed firearm and 12 rounds of ammunition. Police spokesperson Athlenda Mathe confirmed the suspect has appeared in Polokwane Magistrate’s Court and two more suspects remain at large:

# The International Pentacostal Holiness Church leader Mike Sandlana has been denied bail by the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crimes Court. Sandlana faces charges of allegedly bribing Pretoria High Court Judge Portia Phahlane in a church succession dispute. The state opposed bail, presenting new evidence accusing him of exaggerating medical conditions. Magistrate Nica Setshogoe ruled Sandlana failed to show his release was in the interests of justice, citing flight risk, false evidence and witness intimidation:

# Heavy rains and flooding have caused extensive damage on KwaZulu-Natal’s South Coast, affecting Port Shepstone and surrounding areas. Several businesses were forced to close, and homes were waterlogged. Disaster management teams have been deployed to begin mop-up operations. KwaZulu-Natal Cooperative Governance spokesperson Senzelwe Mzila says the coastal belt from Margate to Port Shepstone was hardest hit, but preliminary reports indicate no injuries.

#  A Russian general was killed by a car bomb in southern Moscow earlier today. The bomb exploded under the Kia Sorento driven by Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov, head of the Russian General Staff’s army operational training directorate, as he left a parking space early this morning. Russia’s State Investigative Committee said Sarvarov died as a result of his injuries. The committee said that one of the versions being investigated is that the bomb was planted by Ukrainian special services. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine.

# Cricket: Australia wrapped up an 82-run win over England on day five of the third Ashes test to take an unassailable 3-0 lead in the series and retain the urn with two tests to spare. Chasing a world record 435 runs to win, England battled bravely into the second session at Adelaide Oval but folded for 352. England have now lost the Ashes in three matches for the fourth consecutive tour, while losing 16 of their last 18 tests in the country.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-69-cents and the euro at 19-rand-59-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-43-cents and Bitcoin trades at 89-thousand-699-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-408-dollars-83-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 61-dollars-16-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….