News 17:00

BULLETIN 15 January 5 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Forum 4 Service Delivery’s leader calls for unity among political parties
# The AKA-Tibz murder suspects are denied bail, again
# And Tennis: Another teenager causes an upset at the Australian Open

# Forum 4 Service Delivery leader Mbahare Kekana has called for greater unity among political parties to address South Africa’s ongoing challenges, such as poor service delivery, corruption, and youth unemployment. His party has teamed up with ActionSA for the 2026 local government elections, where it will compete under ActionSA’s banner. Kekana believes that through unity, political parties can effectively address the issues affecting South Africans and create a better future:

# Two men accused in the murders of rapper Kiernan ‘AKA’ Forbes and celebrity chef Tebello ‘Tibz’ Motsoane have been denied bail again at the Durban Magistrate’s Court. Applicants Mziwethemba Gwabeni and Lindokuhle Ndimande applied for bail once more on the basis of new facts. However, Magistrate Vincent Hlatshwayo ruled no new facts justified revisiting their initial denial. The case resumes on 7 February:

# SA Tourism has secured 53 international event bids for 2024/25, projected to generate 616-million-rand and attract over 24-thousand delegates through 2029. CEO Nombulelo Guliwe highlighted the sector’s robust recovery, with 7.2-million visitors between January and October 2024, a 5.7-percent rise from 2023. Guliwe says that SA Tourism continues governance reforms, filling key leadership roles, and promoting South Africa’s unique cultural and natural attractions. She also confirmed its mandate of driving economic growth and job creation while fostering global confidence.

# Births in France fell last year to their lowest annual number since the end of World War II in 1945. The national statistics bureau says in 2024, 663-thousand babies were born in France, a drop of 2.2-percent from the previous year. The total fertility rate stood at 1.59 children per woman in metropolitan France, its lowest level for more than a century. A total of 646-thousand people died in France last year, an increase of 1.1-percent from the previous year, because of baby boomers reaching old age.

# Tennis: Three-time Grand Slam finalist Casper Ruud was sent tumbling out of the Australian Open in the second round by fast-rising Czech teenager Jakub Mensik. The Norwegian sixth seed had no answers to the power and intensity of the 19-year-old, who stormed past him 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 and 6-4 on Margaret Court Arena for the biggest win of his burgeoning career. Ruud fell victim to another of tennis’s up-and-coming young brigade who are gunning to challenge the established order. NextGen winner 18-year old Joao Fonseca beat ninth seed Andrey Rublev yesterday.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-86-cents and the euro at 19-rand-43-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-6-cents and Bitcoin trades at 97-thousand-35-dollars. Gold sells at two-thousand-685-dollars-61-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 79-dollars-61-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….