News 18:00
BULLETIN 28 November 6 pm
Good afternoon. I am……..
In this bulletin:
# Stage 6 load-shedding is implemented from 8pm
# The DA calls for an urgent investigation into the Rustenburg mine tragedy
# And Canoeing: The South African team secures four spots for the Paris Olympics
# Eskom has announced stage 6 load-shedding will be implemented from 8pm today till 5am tomorrow . Stage 4 load-shedding will then be back till 8pm. This pattern will be repeated until Saturday morning. Unplanned outages increased to 15-thousand-825 megawatts, whilst planned maintenance increased to six-thousand-835 megawatts in the past 24 hours. One-thousand-300 megawatts of generation capacity was returned to service in the same period.
# The DA says the accident at Impala Platinum’s Rustenburg mine requires an urgent and thorough investigation. Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Gwede Mantashe, visited the mine earlier and said the investigation into the causes of the accident that claimed 11 lives, is already under way. The DA says the results of the investigation need to be made public so if there has been negligence, those responsible must be held to account, and steps must be taken so that an incident of this nature never happens again.
# South Africa is grappling with a severe shortage of veterinarians, affecting efforts to combat animal diseases like foot and mouth disease. The South African Veterinary Council has reported an annual exodus of around 150 veterinarians from the country. In response, deputy Higher Education minister Buti Manamela says government has launched a veterinary career guidance awareness programme aimed at schoolchildren. He says the initiative aims to raise awareness about veterinary careers and attract more students to address the shortage:
# An elderly Israeli woman is reportedly fighting for her life after being released by Hamas over the weekend. Eighty-four-year-old Elma Avraham was taken hostage from her home early last month when the militant organisation launched a surprise attack across the border from Gaza. She was airlifted to a hospital immediately after her release. Avraham’s daughter, Tali Amano, told the media her mother was held in terrible conditions and denied life-saving medication, while the Red Cross also didn’t visit her in Gaza.
# Canoeing: The South African team emerged from a tough week at the African Championships in Nigeria with four athletes in two K2 boats securing Olympic qualifying spots for Paris next year. The team won nine gold medals to give South Africa top spot on the medal table. The men’s and women’s K2 500-metre crews of Chrisjan Coetzee and Nicholas Weeks, and Esti Olivier and Helen Jansen van Vuuren respectively, emerged as African champions in Olympic qualifying events held on Jabi Lake in Abuja.
# Financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-72-cents and the euro at 20-rand-55-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-69-cents and Bitcoin trades at 37-thousand-406-dollars-35-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-and-26-dollars-28-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 80-dollars-45-cents a barrel.
# And finally: President Cyril Ramaphosa has advocated for men and boys to take a leading role in combating gender-based violence in Africa. Speaking at the 3rd African Union Men’s Conference on Positive Masculinity in Pretoria, Ramaphosa stresses the impossibility of achieving a society free of gender-based violence without challenging assumptions around patriarchy, male chauvinism, and sexism. He highlighted the detrimental impact of violence against women and children on the continent’s development, leaving more than half of Africa’s population in a state of anxiety and fear:
Stay tuned for more news………….