News 17:00

BULLETIN 21 January 5 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# A witness in a murder case is shot dead outside a court in Lenasia
# Former Eskom bigwig France Hlakudi’s tax fraud trial is postponed for a SARS review
# And rugby: Injuries force five changes to England’s training squad for the start of the Six Nations

# Police are searching for two suspects who fatally shot a 27-year-old man outside the Lenasia Magistrate’s Court in Gauteng today. The victim, a witness in an murder trial, was approached and shot without warning. One other person was wounded. Gauteng police spokesperson Mavela Masondo has appealed to anyone with information to contact their nearest police station to aid the investigation:

# The Pretoria Regional Court has postponed former Eskom senior manager France Hlakudi’s 30-million-rand tax fraud trial to March. News24 reports the delay is aimed at allowing the South African Revenue Service to assess new documents Hlakudi submitted to clear his name. Hlakudi faces 44 fraud and tax evasion charges linked to his personal tax and company dealings. The trial began in November, with several witnesses called. He is also accused alongside ex-Eskom executives Abram Masango and Maphoko Kgomoeswana in a separate 1.4-billion-rand Kusile power station corruption case.

# Families of South African engineers Frik Potgieter and Peter Huxham have welcomed International Relations minister Ronald Lamola’s diplomatic visit to Equatorial Guinea, urging swift resolution of their detention. Held since February 2023, the two men worked in the country’s oil sector. Lamola, acting as president Cyril Ramaphosa’s envoy, discussed bilateral relations and diplomatic matters with Equatorial Guinea’s Foreign minister. Family representatives expressed renewed hope, emphasising the emotional toll of the prolonged ordeal and urging persistent efforts to secure the engineers’ release.

# Rugby: England’s head coach, Steve Borthwick, called up five replacements to his squad for the first round of the Six Nations. This follows injuries to Alex Coles, Jack van Poortvliet, Alex Mitchell, former captain Jamie George and Alex Dombrant. The team starts their preparations for the competition at its training camp in Girona, Spain, today. They face defending champion Ireland in Dublin next weekend. France and Wales kick off the season in Paris, while Scotland and Italy will do battle at Murrayfield in Edinburgh.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-57-cents and the euro at 19-rand-25-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-76-cents and Bitcoin trades at 104-thousand-816-dollars. Gold sells at two-thousand-729-dollars-21-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 78-dollars-16-cents a barrel.

# And finally: Cape Town had another bumper December period, with over half-a-million arrivals and a three-percent year-on-year growth. Cape Town International Airport recorded more than 160-thousand international arrivals, while 362-thousand-222 domestic visitors arrived. The most notable growth came from regional flights, which accounted for ten-thousand-491 passengers, an increase of 22.5-percent. Cape Town Tourism CEO, Enver Duminy, says these numbers show the growing confidence in Cape Town as a destination that draws visitors from all corners:

Stay tuned for more news………….