Transcript

Hello and welcome to ‘Just a Moment News’ with your host, Erika, on this Monday, October 8th, 2024. Today, we’re diving into a variety of intriguing news stories from around the globe, each presenting unique situations and developments.

Starting off, there’s a story about South32 and Eskom, where South32, the largest aluminium smelter in the southern hemisphere, continues to receive secretive, preferential electricity pricing deals from Eskom. This is happening despite South Africa’s ongoing energy crisis. South32’s Hillside smelter consumes over five percent of Eskom’s total electricity, yet the terms of the latest pricing agreement remain undisclosed, which has sparked public outrage, especially as Eskom pushes through steep price hikes for ordinary consumers.

Next, we turn our attention to Hurricane Milton, a Category 5 hurricane currently 630 miles southwest of Tampa, Florida, and moving east. It’s expected to make landfall near Tampa as a Category 3 hurricane late Wednesday. Despite a slight weakening due to an eyewall replacement cycle, Milton is forecasted to bring severe impacts to Florida, including life-threatening storm surges, heavy rainfall, and strong winds across several cities.

In business news, the Competition Commission has approved Sanlam’s acquisition of a 60% stake in MultiChoice’s micro-insurance business, NMS Insurance Services, for 1.2 billion Rand upfront, with a potential performance-based earn-out of up to 1.5 billion Rand. This deal includes a long-term commercial partnership to expand financial services across MultiChoice’s African subscriber base.

Moving over to tourism and development, Club Med South Africa is constructing a new resort on KwaZulu-Natal’s north coast, valued at two billion Rand. The resort aims to combine beach holidays with a safari experience and is expected to open in July 2026, providing significant local economic benefits and employment opportunities.

In a remarkable act of bravery at Bloubergstrand beach, Cape Town, a man named Brandon Janeke heroically saved a teenage girl and an older man from drowning. After noticing the girl floating motionless, Janeke swam out to assist, aided by beachgoers who formed a human chain to help pull the trio back to shore.

In entertainment, the sequel to Joker, titled Joker: Folie à Deux, has significantly underperformed at the box office, grossing only thirty-seven point eight million dollars in its opening weekend. The film’s budget was nearly two hundred million dollars, which has intensified its failure, highlighting a trend where bloated budgets in Hollywood are not translating into profits.

Lastly, in the world of gaming, sixteen-year-old Michael “dogplayingtetris” Artiaga achieved a monumental feat in NES Tetris, becoming the first person to roll over the game from Level 255 back to Level 0 after clearing 3,300 lines. His performance showcased how far competitive Tetris has advanced, especially through innovations like hypertapping and rolling techniques.

That wraps up our news for today. Thank you for tuning into ‘Just a Moment News.’ I’m Erika, and we’ll be back with more stories and insights tomorrow. Have a great day!

Keywords - moment, daily, news