News 08:00

BULLETIN 8 Desember 8 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Eskom starts to gradually increase its planned maintenance activities
# The EFF is pained by the deportation of Chris Hani’s assassin Janusz Waluś
# And rugby: The Blitzboks book a spot in the Cape Town Sevens Cup semi-finals

# Eskom says with the summer break approaching and many industries shutting down for this period,  it has started to gradually increase its planned maintenance activities to further improve the reliability of its generation fleet. Eskom spokesperson, Daphne Mokwena says the power utility’s energy availability factor was at an average of 59.4-percent over the past week and 62.8-percent year-to-date, with top performing stations  including Majuba, Medupi, and peaking stations achieving an average availability of 70-percent and above:

# The EFF says it is pained by the deportation without justice, of what it refers to as a right-wing racist and assassin of struggle stalwart Chris Hani. Janusz Waluś will return to Poland following the end of his two-year parole which was granted in 2022. The EFF says the party is pained mostly by the fact that Mama Limpho Hani, who has been relentlessly calling for justice for her husband for more than 30-years, will now not find it. The party says those who called Hani their comrade have now freed his killer.

# Syria’s rebel forces claim to have entered Damascus, and operatives are taking up key positions in the capital. According to Reuters two senior Syrian army officers have said President Bashar al Assad has left Damascus to an unknown destination. They added that Assad had left the capital after boarding a plane. US officials told CNN his regime could soon fall. The rebels say they are in touch with senior Assad regime officers who are considering defecting. Syrian rebels also say they have “fully liberated” the third-largest city of Homs, just over a week after they captured Aleppo.

# Rugby: The Blitzboks surged into the Cup semi-finals of the Cape Town Sevens with a comprehensive 29-5 win over Argentina in their final pool game yesterday evening at the Cape Town Stadium. The shortened format this weekend meant that the match was essentially a quarter-final, with only the pool winners advancing to the Cup semi-finals. The Blitzboks will face Spain today, with Fiji and France up against each other in the other semi-final. South Africa earlier beat Ireland 36-7 in their opening game.

# And finally, Santa Shoebox Project donors have once again rallied to support underprivileged children across South Africa and Namibia, with 74-thousand-751 shoeboxes being donated this year. Santa Shoebox Project CEO, Deb Zelezniak says while she had hoped to reach 75-thousand children in 2024, surpassing last year’s total during a time when people are still recovering financially is an outstanding achievement. She says beyond the numbers, it’s the impact on the children that really counts:

Stay tuned for more news………….