News 08:00

BULLETIN 7 January 8 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Load-shedding has been suspended until 4pm this afternoon
# The death toll caused by inclement weather in KZN has increased to 40 people
# And, Dakar Rally news is that Good Samaritan Ross Branch has taken the first Dakar bike stage

# Eskom has suspended load-shedding until 4pm this afternoon after three generating units returned to service yesterday. Stage one will be implemented from 4pm. Eskom acting spokesperson, Aubrey Sambo says the power utility will announce the outlook for the week ahead today and will communicate, should any significant changes occur.

# KwaZulu-Natal Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs says the number of people who have died due to inclement weather has increased to 40, while five are still reported as missing. Teams continue with rescue and recovery operations while bad weather persists in various parts of the province. The department’s spokesperson, Nonala Ndlovu, says two bodies that were recovered on Friday are still undergoing DNA testing to verify if they match people reported missing:

# The ANC Secretary General Fikile Mbalula says, the ruling party is addressing many years of state capture, that ravaged the performance of some of South Africa’s key entities. Mbalula was briefing the media on the state of readiness for the ANC’s 112th Anniversary and January 8th Statement at Mbombela Stadium, Mpumalanga. He says, it is time that those who delayed progress and undermined the efficient running of state entities face the might of the law:

# Israel kept up its bombing of Gaza on Saturday as its war on Hamas approached its fourth month, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowing to achieve “complete victory” over the Palestinian militants. AFP reports Israeli strikes hit the southern city of Rafah, where hundreds of thousands of people have sought shelter from the fighting. Victims of the bombardment were brought to the European Hospital in Khan Yunis, where relatives and mourners gathered. Army spokesman Daniel Hagari said Israel had completed the dismantling of the Hamas military framework in northern Gaza and would now focus on the centre and the south.

# And, finally, Dakar Rally news: Ross Branch of Botswana was rewarded for stopping to help a stricken rider by emerging as the winner of the opening bike stage of the Dakar Rally yesterday. Branch was leading when he jumped off his bike to help rival Tosha Schareina after the Spaniard’s race-ending crash. Branch ended 16th, but got 25 minutes he had spent helping Schareina deducted from his time, and returned to the lead, almost twelve minutes ahead of Ricky Brabec. Belgian Guillaume de Mevius won yesterday’s first car stage, with Carlos Sainz second, and Giniel de Villiers of South Africa, third.

Stay tuned for more news………….