News 08:00

BULLETIN 6 July 8 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Forum for South Africa asks the president to investigate the Human Rights Commission
# Eskom says diesel usage will decline as more units return to service
# And rugby: The Boks win at Loftus with a lot of work to do

# The Forum for South Africa has called on president Cyril Ramaphosa to institute a full investigation into the operations of the South African Human Rights Commission before things get out of hand. Forum leader Tebogo Mashilompane says that for years, many communities across the country had no drinking water. This is a violation of human rights, but there is no consistent effort from the commission to rectify this. He says the commission seems to be more concerned about issues relating to foreign nationals:

# Eskom says diesel usage is expected to decline as more units return to service from long-term repairs and maintenance activities are reduced, increasing available generation capacity. Eskom spokesperson Daphne Mokwena says year-to-date, the power utility spent 4.85-billion-rand on fuel for the open-cycle gas turbines fleet, generating over 824-gigawatt-hour. She says this is higher than the 471.18-gigawatt-hour generated during the same period last year:

# Hundreds of rescuers have been deployed to search for survivors in central Texas, after flash floods killed 50 people, including 15 children. As the search goes into a second night, county officials said 27 children remained missing from a Christian youth camp for girls located along the river. Many of the missing girls are younger than 12.  Scores of campers holidaying during the 4th July weekend were also unaccounted for. About 850 people have been rescued so far. Texas Governor Greg Abbott said he signed an expanded disaster declaration to boost search efforts.

# Sports News:

# Canoeing: Forty-seven-year-old Hank McGregor duly swept home on Saturday for an incredible 14th Berg River Canoe Marathon win, maintaining his solid 10-minute lead as he paddled to the finish of the four-day event in Velddrif. Second place went to 53-year-old Robbie Herreveld, making the combined ages of the two top paddlers an amazing 100 years. KwaZulu-Natal paddler Jenna Nisbett came second in the last stage but won the women’s race by six minutes from East London’s Nix Birkett, who won the first and final stages.  

# And rugby: The Springboks won their opening Test of the 2025 season with a disjointed display against Italy at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday evening. Rassie Erasmus’s charges scored six tries during the match, which ended 42-24 in their favour. The Boks led 28-3 at halftime after tries by Jesse Kriel, Kurt Lee Arendse, and Morné van den Berg. Vincent Koch and Marco van Staden added 2 more tries in the second half, while Handrè Pollard converted all six tries. Italy’s points came from tries by Manuel Zuliani, Pablo Dimcheff, and Niccolò Cannone, with Giacomo Da Re adding the rest with his boot.

# And finally: The University of Pretoria is calling on alumni, partners, and the broader public to stand in solidarity with students facing hunger and financial hardship by supporting UP Giving Month. As part of this year’s campaign, the university is collaborating with the Vodacom Bulls and Bulls Daisies to combat hunger and financial exclusion among students in South Africa. The university says the partnership aims to shine a light on these urgent challenges and invite the wider public to get involved in making a difference.

Stay tuned for more news………….