News 16:00

BULLETIN 17 September 4 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala is denied bail in the Tebogo Thobejane case
# The DA sounds the alarm on South Africa’s child hunger crisis
# And Israel opens a temporary new route for people to flee Gaza City

# Controversial businessman Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala will remain behind bars after the Alexandra Magistrate’s Court in Gauteng denied him bail. Matlala is accused of orchestrating a 2023 hit on his ex-girlfriend, actress Tebogo Thobejane. He faces attempted murder, corruption, and money laundering charges alongside his wife and three others. Magistrate Syta Prinsloo ruled Matlala a flight risk, citing foreign assets and a fraudulent ID, and postponed the case to 7 October:

# KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi has told the Madlanga commission of inquiry the criminal justice system faces a real risk of total collapse if corruption and political interference are not addressed. Testifying first, Mkhwanazi said his 6 July media briefing reflected collective concerns from police officials about sabotage and wrongdoing within the system. He also defended the disbanded political killings task team, as it had achieved significant successes despite criticism:

# The DA has expressed concern at South Africa’s child hunger crisis, saying this is a national tragedy. Last year alone, 766 children under five-years-old died from malnutrition-related causes in public hospitals across the country. Since May this year, 45 children have died from malnutrition in the Eastern Cape alone. The DA’s Bridget Masango says each of these deaths represents a young life cut short, a grieving family, and a future stolen:

Moving abroad:

# The Israeli military says it is opening a temporary new route to allow people to flee Gaza City, as it pressed a major ground assault aimed at crushing Hamas. The army unleashed a massive bombardment of Gaza City before dawn yesterday and pushed its troops deeper into the Gaza Strip’s largest urban hub. It came as a United Nations probe accused Israel of committing genocide in the Palestinian territory, saying prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior officials had incited the crime.

# Soccer: World governing body Fifa announced the distribution of 6.1-billion-rand to clubs for next year’s World Cup in North America – an increase of almost 70-percent from the previous tournament in Qatar in 2022. This is part of Fifa’s expanded club benefits programme, where clubs are being compensated for releasing players for qualifiers as well as the finals. Fifa president Gianni Infantino says the project is financial recognition for the contribution of clubs and players by staging the run-up and the tournament itself.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-37-cents and the euro at 20-rand-56-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-71-cents and Bitcoin trades at 116-thousand-360-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-670-dollars-67-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 67-dollars-92-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….