Transcript

Good day, and welcome to Just a Moment News. I’m Erika, and here are the headlines for today, November 3rd, 2023.

First up, we have an interesting story from South Africa. Over 50,000 government workers in the country have become millionaires. According to the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement, the number of government employees earning over 1 million rand has increased by 450% in the past decade. In addition, 180,000 employees earn between 600,000 and 1 million rand, and nearly half of all 1.3 million government workers earn over 350,000 annually. However, this rise in salaries has contributed to the country’s fiscal challenges, as the government wage bill has increased from 408 billion in 2013/14 to 724 billion in 2023/24. Finance Minister Godongwana has committed to honoring a 7.5% wage increase for public sector unions, which will require an additional R23.6 billion from the Treasury and reprioritization of departmental budgets.

Moving on to our next story, Sam Bankman-Fried, the ex-CEO of FTX, has been found guilty of fraud. A New York jury convicted Bankman-Fried on seven fraud-related charges. The trial revealed his fraudulent management of FTX and Alameda Research, with evidence of deception and misuse of customer funds. Bankman-Fried violated bail conditions and awaits sentencing on March 28th. This case has had a negative impact on the crypto industry’s reputation.

In entertainment news, we have a review of the film “Fingernails.” This Apple TV original takes a unique approach to the romantic comedy genre by adding a sci-fi twist. The film explores the idea of quantifying love through a medical test involving fingernail analysis. Directed by Christos Nikou, “Fingernails” attempts to dissect the nature of love and the lengths people will go to validate it. While the movie has received some criticism for miscasting, it falls short of capturing the emotional depth that made romcoms popular in the past.

Next, we have updates on HBO’s television lineup. “House of the Dragon” is set to release its second season in early summer 2024, despite the ongoing WGA strike. A new spin-off, “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight,” is also expected to start production in spring 2024. However, fans of “The Last of Us” will have to wait longer, as the second season has been postponed to 2025 due to production delays caused by stalled WGA and SAG-AFTRA negotiations. “Euphoria” is scheduled to continue with its third season in 2025, and other shows like “The White Lotus” and a series prequel to “It” titled “Welcome to Derry” are teased for the same year.

In music news, The Beatles have released a new song called “Now and Then.” This is their first “new” song since 1995 and was created using cutting-edge technology and machine learning to refine an old John Lennon demo. The release of the song celebrates The Beatles’ pioneering spirit in both music and technology.

Lastly, we have some good news from Cape Town, South Africa. A lucky individual has won over 21 million rand in the Lotto Plus 1 draw. The winning ticket was purchased via the FNB banking app, and the winner plans to invest a portion of the winnings in property and start their own business in the field of emergency healthcare services. They also intend to make generous donations to various charities, reflecting the spirit of Ubuntu and the positive impact of the National Lottery.

That’s all for today’s news. Thank you for joining us on Just a Moment News. I’m Erika, and I’ll see you next time.

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