Transcript

Hello everyone, this is Erika on ‘Just a Moment News’, bringing you the top stories of the day on this 24th of January, 2024.

First up, we have news from South Africa where the State Attorney and the Presidency have initiated legal proceedings against former President Jacob Zuma. They are seeking to recover a sum of approximately 29 million rand, which was spent on Zuma’s corruption trial defense. This figure is 10 million more than initially claimed due to additional expenses identified during litigation preparation. The courts had previously ruled that Zuma was not entitled to state-funded defense, which he had been receiving since 2005, and mandated the State Attorney to recover these funds.

Next, we have some tech news. Google Chrome is set to introduce AI-powered features for Mac and Windows users. These updates include a smart tab organizer, customizable themes using AI, and a writing assistant for online text input. Google plans to integrate further AI and ML tools with Chrome in the future, including its new AI model, Gemini.

Moving on to the world of entertainment, the 2024 Oscars nominations have been announced, and they are notably diverse in terms of ethnicity, genre, and films. Seven out of 20 acting nominees were people of the global majority, and the nominations saw several historic firsts. Lily Gladstone became the first Native American acting nominee, and two openly LGBTQ actors were nominated for portraying LGBTQ characters.

In business news, Showmax, a streaming service by MultiChoice, is partnering with MTN to offer three new bundles that include access to Showmax’s services and the data required for streaming. This collaboration aims to increase the accessibility of Showmax, particularly for viewing the English Premier League, which Showmax has the rights to broadcast.

Netflix has made a significant move into live events by acquiring exclusive rights to “Raw” and other World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) programs. Starting in January 2025, “Raw” will be available on Netflix in several international markets. This deal positions Netflix as the exclusive international platform for all WWE shows, specials, and pay-per-view events.

In South Africa, Woolworths, a prominent grocery retailer, experienced a significant surge in its online food sales, driven by the popularity of its on-demand delivery service, Woolies Dash. However, the company has warned that its interim earnings will be significantly lower than the previous year, largely due to the sale of its loss-making Australian business, David Jones.

In other entertainment news, MrBeast, the massively popular YouTube creator, is nearing a deal for a reality-competition show with Amazon‘s Prime Video. The show is expected to follow the format of his viral YouTube challenges, including giving out large cash prizes.

Lastly, Disney has offered an elegant solution to VR’s movement problem. HoloTile, a system that uses numerous small, omnidirectional tiles to enable free movement within a confined space, is in the research phase. This system has the potential to enhance the VR experience, although it might be more suited for specialized applications rather than home use.

And that wraps up our news stories for today. This has been Erika on ‘Just a Moment News’. Stay tuned for more updates tomorrow.

Keywords - moment, daily, news