Daily news update: Israel’s ‘most wanted’ gangster nabbed, Senzo Meyiwa trial and Phala Phala report

Here’s your morning news update: An easy-to-read selection of our top stories. Stay up to date with The Citizen – More News, Your Way.

Daily news update: 17 November

WATCH: Israel’s ‘most wanted’ gang leader among eight nabbed in Bryanston

Police have arrested a 46-year-old Israeli fugitive – Israel’s “most wanted” gang leader – and seven others at a house in Bryanston, north of Johannesburg.

It is understood the suspects were handcuffed during a multidisciplinary operation led by Interpol South Africa, Organised Crime detectives, National Crime Intelligence and the Special Task Force (STF) on Thursday.

Police spokesperson Colonel Athlenda Mathe said the Israeli national was on Interpol’s Red Notice from 2015.

Senzo Meyiwa trial: Tumelo Madlala admits he had phone but never called cops for help

Senzo Meyiwa’s long-time friend, Tumelo Madlala, did not call police on the night the soccer star was fatally shot even though he had his cell phone with him in a locked bedroom.

This emerged on Thursday in the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria, in the murder trial of the five men accused of killing the former Bafana Bafana and Orlando Pirates goalkeeper.

Madlala was present on the night Meyiwa was shot in Vosloorus, east of Johannesburg, on 26 October 2014.

The footballer was gunned down in what has been described as a botched robbery at the family home of his then-lover, musician Kelly Khumalo.

Phala Phala report to be debated in Parliament next month

Parliament is scheduled to meet early next month to discuss the Section 89 panel’s report on the Phala Phala scandal.

This was revealed in the National Assembly’s Programming Committee meeting on Thursday.

The report will now be debated by MPs in the House on 6 December, thus, extending Parliament’s term.

ALSO READ: Phala Phala: ‘There are no criminal charges’, says Presidency

The National Assembly was expected to adjourn on 1 December, and then go on a constituency period from 5 to 15 December.

Twitter reacts to Charlize Theron saying Afrikaans is a ‘dying language’

Award-winning actress Charlize Theron has divided the South African public after her interesting views on her home language Afrikaans. 

The Oscar winner’s comments were made on the SmartLess podcast on Spotify earlier this week, with hosts Sean Hayes, Jason Bateman and Will Arnett. She talked about her childhood and how she only started learning English at the age of 19 when she moved to the United States.

Theron said she could barely string a sentence together in English, however, with her pursuit to become an actress – that had to change.  

This conversation started with the men asking if she had a South African accent when she was growing up, as the actors agreed doing a South African accent is difficult. 

World Rugby’s referees boss breaks silence on Rassie’s tweets

While World Rugby have not officially made a statement about the series of tweets sent out by SA Rugby’s director Rassie Erasmus, seemingly criticising referee Wayne Barnes for his handling of certain passages of play during the Springboks Test against France last Saturday, referees boss Joel Jutge has spoken out about it.

Erasmus caused a bit of a storm on Sunday and Monday after tweeting clips of what appeared to be incidents going against the Boks in their 30-26 defeat by France in Marseille at the weekend.

Erasmus highlighted several incidents which appeared to have sarcastic undertones aimed at the refereeing of Barnes. The SA Rugby director has since copped plenty of criticism for his actions, by among others former Test referee Nigel Owens and British and Irish Lions coach Warren Gatland.