News 17:00

BULLETIN 31 October 5 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The alleged mastermind in the Lusikisiki murders will represent himself in court
# A young Australian golf star promises to be back after losing the sight in his one eye
# And Charlize Theron and the South African writer, actor, and filmmaker, Thabo Rametsi join forces

# The alleged mastermind in the Lusikisiki mass murders in the Eastern Cape, Mzukisi Ndamase, told the local Magistrate’s Court he would represent himself, refusing Legal Aid assistance. Ndamase, who is currently serving a life sentence, was arrested in Ebongweni Maximum Correctional Centre yesterday, where he allegedly orchestrated the murders of 18 people. The case was postponed to 29 November for further investigation. The National Prosecuting Authority’s Luxolo Tyali says they have a strong case against Ndamase:

# The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse has urged government to increase funding for key anti-corruption bodies, such as the National Prosecuting Authority and the Special Investigating Unit. They warn a lack of oversight in public-private partnerships could lead to wasted taxpayer money and inefficiency. OUTA CEO Wayne Duvenage criticised Finance minister Enoch Godongwana’s medium-term budget policy statement for not prioritising the fight against corruption and financial misconduct:

# China has a new richest person – the entrepreneur behind the wildly popular, and controversial, app TikTok. The 41-year-old Zhang Yiming’s wealth has now reached the equivalent of 865-billion-rand. Since its official launch in May 2017, TikTok has become an era-defining social media platform beloved by many young people around the world. Zhang’s rise to the top of the 2024 Hurun China Rich List knocked bottled water king Zhong Shanshan out of the lead spot for the first time in three years, though he remained second, followed by Tencent founder Pony Ma.

# Golf: A young Australian regarded as a rising star vowed to play on despite losing the sight in his left eye in a freak accident. A ball hit 20-year-old Jeffrey Guan in the face during a tournament last month, fracturing his cheekbone and eye socket. The PGA of Australia now revealed he had permanently lost vision in the eye. Guan recently signed a contract with the same company who manages Major winners Jon Rahm and Phil Mickelson. He admits to being utterly distraught, but promised to be back.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-63-cents and the euro at 19-rand-18-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-90-cents and Bitcoin trades at 72-thousand-22-dollars-81-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-769-dollars-25-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 72-dollars-47-cents a barrel.

# And finally: Award-winning actress Charlize Theron has partnered with South African writer, actor, and filmmaker, Thabo Rametsi, and his business partner, Thabiso Mabanna, for a new comic book series, Imbokodo. The series honours great warrior women of Africa, including Shaka Zulu’s mother Queen Nandi, and Angola’s Queen Nzinga. Theron was involved in the project through her media company Secret Menu. Rametsi says this project is not just about bringing a comic series to readers, but about immortalising African mythology and history in a way that speaks to audiences worldwide.

Stay tuned for more news………….