News 08:00

BULLETIN NEWS AGENCY 1 April 8 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Archbishop Makgoba calls on both Israel and Hamas to lay down their weapons
# Load-shedding remains suspended until further notice
# And in rugby, there is concern over another injury to Eben Etzebeth

# The Anglican archbishop of Cape Town and president of the SA Council of Churches, Thabo Makgoba, is calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. Makgoba led the Easter vigil in St George’s Cathedral. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, at least 82 people died in a 24-hour period in Gaza, bringing the total number of those killed since 7 October to 32-thousand-705. Magoba says with so many lives destroyed yesterday, Resurrection seemed very far away:

# Eskom says it has suspended load-shedding until further notice due to sustained generation capacity, adequate emergency reserves and anticipated lower demand. The power utility will provide an update on Wednesday or as soon as there are any significant changes. Eskom spokesperson, Daphne Mokwena urged costumers to continue to use electricity sparingly and efficiently:

Meanwhile, Eskom is warning South Africans about a scam message circulating on social media platforms titled, Additional Information Required for Refund. The message requests customers to click on a link to receive money into their accounts. Customers are warned not to do so. Eskom spokesperson Daphne Mokwena says victims should immediately register a criminal case of fraud with police should they become aware that they had been scammed.

# The N3 Toll Concession says the Northbound traffic towards Gauteng is expected to gradually increase on the N3 Toll Route between KwaZulu-Natal, Free State and Gauteng from today. Traffic forecasts indicate that volumes are likely to peak with highs of up to two-thousand vehicles per hour heading towards Gauteng during the day. The N3 Toll Concession operations manager, Thania Dhoogra, says it is likely that busy conditions will continue on Tuesday as schools only reopen on Wednesday:

# And finally rugby, the Sharks’ 23-13 United Rugby Championship victory over Edinburgh on Saturday may have come at a huge price. South Africa’s Player of the Year Eben Etzebeth received treatment for a rib injury and didn’t return to the field after half-time. Sharks head coach John Plumtree hopes Etzebeth will only be out for two or three weeks. The towering lock only recently returned to competitive action since early January following knee surgery.

Stay tuned for more news………….