News 06:00
BULLETIN 8 April 6 am
Good morning. I am……..
In this bulletin:
# The Western Cape premier says the top priority is to protect lives
# Load-shedding remains suspended
# And rugby: The Sharks are through to the European Challenge Cup quarterfinals
# Western Cape premier Alan Winde says all disaster management and emergency services are on high alert. This is as the South African Weather Service has issued a level nine warning for damaging winds and rain in many parts of the province. Strong winds have already pummelled various areas, fuelling fires, particularly in the Cape Winelands, most of which have been contained. Winde says the top priority at this stage is protecting lives followed by critical infrastructure and property:
Meanwhile, the Western Cape government has decided to close all public schools in the Cape Winelands, Overberg, and Helderberg areas today. Education MEC, David Maynier, says they have already received reports from several schools that have been damaged by high winds over the weekend, and the department’s infrastructure team is assessing the damage:
# Police minister Bheki Cele has confirmed the revitalisation of policing units to combat crime effectively. Cele emphasises a decisive response to various forms of crime, particularly violent and serious offenses. He urges officers to prioritise the protection of themselves and their communities without hesitation. Cele reveals one-thousand-179 intelligence-led operations have been conducted since April 2023, following weeks and months of investigations and preparations:
# Load-shedding remains suspended until further notice, marking 12 consecutive days without blackouts. This is the longest period of uninterrupted power supply since the December festive season. Eskom says the continued suspension of load-shedding is owing to sustained available generation capacity and adequate emergency reserves. The power utility says it plans to return a total generation capacity of one-thousand-150 megawatts to service by this evening.
# New Zealand says it is making immediate changes to its employment visa program after a near record migration last year which it calls “unsustainable”. The changes include introducing an English language requirement for low skilled jobs and setting a minimum skills and work experience threshold for most employer work visas. The maximum continuous stay for most low-skilled roles will also be reduced to three years from five years. Reuters reports, according to a government statement, a near record 173-thousand people migrated to New Zealand last year.
# Rugby: The Sharks are through to the quarterfinals of the European Challenge Cup after beating Zebre 47-three in their round-of-16 clash in Durban. John Plumtree’s side scored seven unanswered tries to keep up their hopes of capping a difficult season with some silverware. The Sharks will host Edinburgh in the quarterfinals in Durban on Saturday. If they win, they will host either France’s Clermont or Ireland’s Ulster in the semifinals.
# And financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-73-cents and the euro at 20-rand-29-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-64-cents and Bitcoin trades at 69-thousand-723-dollars-7-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-313-dollars-19-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 88-dollars-91-cents a barrel.
Stay tuned for more news………….