News 16:00

BULLETIN 3 December 4 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Alleged crime boss Katiso ”KT” Molefe’s murder case is moved to the High Court
# No breakthrough yet in the peace talks between Putin and US negotiators
# And cricket: Van Niekerk could return to the Proteas Women action against Ireland on Friday

# Alleged ‘Big Five’ cartel boss Katiso “KT” Molefe’s murder case has been transferred to the High Court in Johannesburg. He and three co-accused appeared briefly in the Alexandra Magistrate’s Court in Gauteng on charges including murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and possession of unlicensed firearms. Molefe, linked to hits on musicians DJ Somebody and DJ Vintos and Vereeniging engineer Armand Swart, is out on 500-thousand-rand bail. The trial is set to begin in February.

# Union federation Saftu says it rejects attempts by president Cyril Ramaphosa and Finance minister Enoch Godongwana to present the latest gross domestic product figures as economic progress. GDP rose 0.5-percent in the three months to September. Saftu’s spokesperson, Asive Dyani, says for working people, this is stagnation in a system that continues to reproduce poverty, unemployment, and extreme inequality:

# KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Transport and Human Settlements, Siboniso Duma, has praised the Road Traffic Inspectorate for the success of the #NenzaniLaEzweni Operation. Department spokesperson Ndabezinhle Sibiya says fatal crashes dropped from 502 to 478, and fatalities from 582 to 553 in the last year, a five percent decrease. He says since Monday, the RTI has stopped nearly four-thousand vehicles, issued 111 speeding charges, and arrested one-thousand-561 motorists for drunk driving:

Moving abroad:

# Russian president Vladimir Putin and US negotiators appear to have failed to achieve a breakthrough on securing a Ukrainian peace deal. Russian officials say the talks were constructive, but no compromise was reached over territorial concessions from Kiev. Nato Foreign ministers are meanwhile meeting in Brussels to discuss the ongoing peace talks. Chief Mark Rutte says Moscow continues to test their deterrence and they face real and lasting dangers. He adds Russia has violated Nato’s airspace with drones and jets, and sent spy ships into its waters.

# Cricket: Former Proteas Women captain Dané van Niekerk is set to return to international action after two and a half years in Friday’s first T20 against Ireland in Cape Town. She announced her retirement after the 2023 World Cup in the format after being left out of the squad due to fitness issues, but reversed it recently. Thirty-two-year-old Van Niekerk was included in the squads for both white ball series against the Irish. She believes she has much more to give to the team:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-8-cents and the euro at 19-rand-92-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-70-cents and Bitcoin trades at 92-thousand-853-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-205-dollars-41-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 63-dollars-4-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….