Transcript

Good morning, and welcome to Just a Moment News. I’m Erika, and today is November 28, 2023. Let’s dive into today’s headlines.

First up, we have a dispute over Eskom’s load-shedding in South Africa. Energy expert Chris Yelland reported experiencing over 12 hours of power cuts daily in Johannesburg, which aligns with Stage 8 load-shedding, not the officially announced Stage 6. This has raised doubts about Eskom’s transparency. Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa denied implementing Stage 8 but acknowledged that different areas may have varying experiences. In the past, Eskom has been accused of underreporting load-shedding stages. This discrepancy arises from Eskom not adhering to the National Rationalised Specifications’ guidelines, which define stages based on a percentage of demand cut, not a fixed MW amount.

Next, BBC Studios has launched its subscription podcast service, “BBC Podcasts Premium,” in 166 new countries. This service offers ad-free listening and early access to popular BBC podcasts, including “Good, Bad, Billionaire” and “Dua Lipa: At Your Service.” It also introduces new offerings like “The Global Story,” a daily news podcast. The service is available for $2.99 per month or $29.99 annually, with a seven-day free trial. This global rollout follows earlier launches in New Zealand, Australia, the U.S., and Canada.

Moving on, a Varsity College student in Johannesburg has been accused of murdering teacher Kirsten Kluyts. The student, who is 21 years old, was arrested in a boarding house near the crime scene at Sandton Sports Club. He claimed to have found Kluyts’ body while drunk but did not confess to the murder. The investigation involved CCTV footage, and the suspect’s parents are reportedly shocked by the allegations. The student faces a murder charge, with pending forensic results to determine if Kluyts was raped.

In entertainment news, billionaire Mark Cuban has announced that he will be leaving the popular TV show “Shark Tank” in 2025. Cuban, who joined the show in its second season, expressed his desire to spend more time with his teenage children before they become independent. He emphasized that his departure is not due to any issues with the show, which he loves and believes strongly motivates entrepreneurs globally. Since joining “Shark Tank,” Cuban has invested $29 million in at least 85 companies.

In a surprising revelation, it has been discovered that a male tech conference founder, Eduards Sizovs, is behind a popular woman coding influencer account called @coding_unicorn. Sizovs allegedly created this fake account and used it as a speaker for his conference. Evidence includes IP logs linking Sizovs to the online accounts associated with the influencer, as well as similarities in their online posts. This controversy has led to several high-profile speakers withdrawing from Sizovs’ conference.

The Presidency of South Africa is investigating claims that parts of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s speech on November 21 were authored using AI tools like ChatGPT. These allegations surfaced after a YouTuber and other users suggested the use of AI, supported by AI detection tools. The Presidency denied using AI for speeches and stated that the contentious sections were drafted by the Department of Basic Education. The investigation highlights the limitations of current AI detection tools, as even OpenAI couldn’t reliably distinguish between AI and human text.

Lastly, YouTube Premium has introduced a new feature called “Playables,” which offers playable games within the app. This feature is available for both mobile and desktop users and is currently free. The Playables section includes a Home tab that displays previously played and popular games, as well as a Browse tab with around 37 titles available for immediate play without downloading. YouTube is offering this feature to evaluate its popularity, and it will be available until March 28, 2024.

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

Keywords - moment, daily, news