News 08:00

BULLETIN 19 October 8 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Cape Town Marathon is cancelled due to safety concerns
# Eskom achieves 154 days without load-shedding amid improved reliability
# And rugby:  The Lions record a win in the United Rugby Championships

# We start with important sports news:

# Road running: The Cape Town Marathon has been cancelled just hours before its start, citing safety concerns linked to strong winds. Over 24-thousand runners from across the globe were set to take on the 42.2-kilometre race. Reports suggest damage to the start line and disrupted water stations. Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis says he is gutted for the runners but supports the organisers’ decision to prioritise safety. The cancellation is a major setback to the marathon’s bid for inclusion in the Abbott World Marathon Majors.

And now back to the other news of the day:

# Eskom continues to supply South Africa reliably, achieving 154 consecutive days without load-shedding and only 26 hours lost between 1 April and 16 October 2025. September’s Energy Availability Factor reached 70.27-percent, reflecting reduced unplanned losses and improved operational discipline. During this period, the EAF stood at 62.76-percent, with unplanned outages dropping by one-thousand-478-megawatts year-on-year. Eskom spokesperson Daphne Mokwena says the utility plans to return three-thousand-890-megawatts of generation capacity to further strengthen grid stability:

Meanwhile, Eskom has been rated the worst-performing large South African company in online media sentiment. According to Press Pulse’s latest report, the artificial intelligence-driven analysis shows overwhelmingly negative coverage, surpassing other state-owned enterprises, including Transnet, the South African Post Office, and the SABC. Press Pulse uses natural language processing to measure positive, neutral, and negative reporting. It highlights Eskom’s serious perception problem amid years of mismanagement, corruption, and service failures affecting public confidence.

# The Activists and Citizens Forum says suspended Police minister Senzo Mchunu’s testimony before the Parliamentary Ad-Hoc Committee is a waste of time. Spokesperson Dennis Bloem says Mchunu only sought to justify his unconstitutional decision to disband the Political Killings Task Team. He says Mchunu’s interpretation of the Constitution is wrong and amounts to political interference, adding that no one, including the minister, is above the law:

# Gaza’s Hamas-run civil defence says 11 people were killed, all from the same family, after an Israeli tank shell hit the bus they were in in northern Gaza. The Abu Shaaban family was trying to reach their home to inspect it when the incident happened in the Zeitoun neighbourhood of Gaza City on Friday night. The dead included women and children. It was the deadliest single incident involving Israeli soldiers in Gaza since the start of the ceasefire eight days ago. The Israeli Defence Force has warned Palestinians from entering areas in Gaza still under its control.

# And finally rugby news:

# The Lions finally found their winning ways when two late tries by replacement Morne Brandon secured them a 29-18 victory over the Scarlets in their United Rugby Championship match at Ellis Park on Saturday. Played in consistent rain, it was by no means a classic, but a gritty win by a side under pressure. The win will lift some of the pressure on coach Ivan van Rooyen, who will be hoping it is the turnaround the side need ahead of a long, arduous campaign that got off to the worst start.

Stay tuned for more news………….