News 09:00

BULLETIN 10 Mei 9 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Government remains dedicated to constructive dialogue with America
# Nersa approves a grid capacity boost to support renewable energy
# And in rugby, Eben Etzebeth’s injury overshadows the Sharks’ good win over Ospreys

# The Government says it remains dedicated to constructive dialogue with the United States of America, anchored in mutual respect for sovereignty, the rule of law, and shared a commitment to deepening mutually beneficial bilateral partnership. The International Relations and Cooperation ministry’s spokesperson, Chrispin Phiri says the department has sought the status of persons that will be departing, whether as asylum seekers, refugees or ordinary citizens. He says government sought assurances as to whether the persons have been appropriately vetted by competent South African authorities:

# Energy regulator Nersa has approved a plan by the National Transmission Company to manage power grid congestion and support more renewable energy in the Eastern and Western Cape. The decision, valid until 2028, allows limited power cuts from generators to free up space on the grid. Nersa’s Charles Hlebela says this will help connect more clean energy projects while protecting consumers from extra costs and supporting South Africa’s renewable energy goals:

# The South African Social Security Agency has cautioned that May payments to certain grant beneficiaries will be slightly delayed. This follows identity verification processes currently underway to ensure compliance and prevent fraud. SASSA spokesperson Paseka Letsatsi told Newzroom Afrika that affected individuals are those whose details require further confirmation. He emphasised that beneficiaries will be notified and assisted without losing access to their grants:

# India has ordered X to block more than eight-thousand accounts. The platform says that it was reluctantly complying with what it described as government-imposed “censorship”. The move appears to be part of India’s sweeping crackdown targeting social media accounts of Pakistani politicians, celebrities and media organisations amid heightened tensions and deadly confrontations between the nuclear-armed neighbors. The order, which X said includes demands to block international news organisations and other prominent users, comes a day after Meta banned a prominent Muslim news page on Instagram in India at New Delhi’s request.

# Rugby:  The Sharks’ 29-10 win over the Ospreys in their penultimate United Rugby Championship league game at Kings Park ensured that they would end the URC season in the top four at least and secured a first ever home URC quarter-final. However, the win was largely overshadowed by Eben Etzebeth going off with a potentially serious knee injury in the first half. The injury is cause for concern not just for coach John Plumtree, but also for Rassie Erasmus and the Springboks. The Sharks’ final match before the playoffs is next weekend when they host the Scarlets in Durban.  

# Meanwhile, Springboks Willie le Roux, Cameron Hanekom and Marcell Coetzee were included in the Bulls’ starting-15 for this evening’s match against Cardiff at Loftus in the penultimate round of the United Rugby Championship. Hanekom returns after injury while Le Roux and Coetzee started on the bench for the previous match against defending champion Glasgow in Scotland. The Bulls are currently third on the log behind Leinster and Glasgow, and have already qualified for the play-offs. Cardiff lies in fifth position behind the Sharks.

Stay tuned for more news………….