News 08:00

BULLETIN X 21 January 8 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# President Ramaphosa calls for the reform of the United Nations
# Load-shedding has been suspended until further notice
# And, rugby: The Stormers and the Bulls qualify for the Champions Cup playoffs

# President Cyril Ramaphosa has called for continued multilateralism and the reform of the United Nations. Ramaphosa was speaking during the 19th Non-Aligned Movement Summit in Kampala, Uganda. International governance, human rights and the Israel-Hamas war were the main topics of discussion at the meeting. The president says the global dispute and regional strife need to be resolved through negotiations:

# Eskom has suspended load-shedding again. The power utility says an improvement in generating capacity has allowed it to ease the weekend outages. Spokesperson Daphne Mokwena thanks South Africans who heed the call to use electricity sparingly and efficiently, including switching off geysers and pool pumps. This lowers demand, helps alleviate the pressure on the system and contributes to lower stages of load-shedding:

# The DA says the office of Mineral Resources and Energy minister, Gwede Mantashe, has acknowledged receipt of a request it submitted. The DA calls for an extension of the public comments deadline for the draft Integrated Resource Plan 2023, from the current cutoff date of 23 February to 30 April. Spokesperson Kevin Mileham says stakeholders are concerned that the current deadline does not afford them enough time to properly interrogate the underlying assumptions and projections made in the plan:

# The United Nations Women’s executive director, Sima Bahous, says it is now more than 100 days since Hamas’ attacks on Israel on 7 October and the horrors that have followed, especially in Gaza. Since then, the UN has seen evidence once more that women and children are the first victims of conflict and that the duty to seek peace is a duty to them. Bahous says without change, the last 100 days will be a mere prelude to the next 100. She emphasises women and girls make up the majority of those killed, wounded and displaced. 

# And, rugby: The Stormers came from behind to beat Stade Francais in Paris last night and secure a home Champions Cup playoff. A 71st-minute try from Manie Libbok, playing his 50th Stormers game, gave the team a bonus-point 24-20 victory at the Stade Jean-Bouin. Earlier, Marcell Coetzee scored a brace of tries as the Bulls beat Bordeaux Begles in a thrilling clash at Loftus to also qualify for the playoffs. The Bulls recorded a 46-40 bonus-point win in a match that saw the teams score six tries each.

Stay tuned for more news………….