News 12:00

BULLETIN 14 May 12 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa apologises for the sudden return of loadshedding
# Boxing: Dricus du Plessis will defend his middleweight title in August
# And two South African restaurants have cracked their way onto the World’s 101 Best Steak Restaurants list

# Electricity and Energy minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has apologised for the sudden return of loadshedding yesterday, but remains optimistic of a loadshedding-free winter. Eskom has been forced to implement stage two loadshedding during evening peak hours from 4pm to 10pm until tomorrow. This follows the delayed return of generation units and breakdowns over the last 24 hours. Ramokgopa says they are working hard to ensure that loadshedding is not normalised:

# Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni says the two new intelligence agencies will be free of political interference. The State Security Agency will be split into two bodies: the Foreign Intelligence Service, to identify threats to national security, and the Domestic Intelligence Agency, responsible for counterintelligence. This is in a bid to reform the intelligence services and improve oversight and accountability. Ntshavheni says the two new intelligence structures will start operating soon:

# AfriForum says it’s time South Africa gets cheaper medical aid options. This follows a Council for Medical Schemes report on low-cost benefit options. AfriForum agrees that the current framework has flaws but urges implementation rather than further delays. Spokesperson Louis Boshoff says 24-years of research and no approval is unacceptable. He argues that public healthcare and the National Health Insurance can’t fill the gap.

# Mixed martial arts: South Africa’s Dricus du Plessis will defend his undisputed world middleweight title against Russia’s Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 319 at the United Centre in Chicago on the 17th of August. Du Plessis defending his title against the American Sean Strickland in February. Du Plessis has won 20 of his 23 fights by knockout, while Chimaev holds an undefeated record of 16-0.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-20-cents and the euro at 20-rand-46-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-30-cents and Bitcoin trades at 103-thousand-367-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-238-dollars-52-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 65-dollars-92-cents a barrel.

# And finally: Two South African restaurants have made the coveted World’s 101 Best Steak Restaurants list for 2025. Stellenbosch’s VUUR, which is ranked 87, has also been named Africa’s Best Steak Restaurant, while Johannesburg’s The Blockman is ranked 97th. Argentina’s Don Julio Parrilla, located in the heart of Buenos Aires’ ever-vibrant Palermo district, tops the list. It is followed by Margaret in Sydney, Australia, and Laia Erretegia in the picturesque town of Hondarribia in Spain.

Stay tuned for more news………….