News 13:00

BULLETIN 3 May 1 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund calls for full justice in missing children’s cases
# Kelly Smith’s home in Middelpos torched after guilty verdict
# And, load rotation begins in parts of Soshanguve

#  The Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund has welcomed the guilty verdict against Kelly Smith and her co-accused in the kidnapping and trafficking of six-year-old Joslin Smith. Speaking to the SABC News, the Fund’s Refilwe Mokoena, emphasised justice for other unresolved child disappearances. Joslin went missing from her Middelpos home in Saldanha Bay in February 2024. She calls for enhanced efforts on locating Joslin:

Shoretly after the conviction of her mother Kelly Smith, the Middelpos home where Joslin Smith lived was burnt down. Police have opened an arson case, and a woman has been taken in for questioning. Saldanha Bay mayor André Truter confirmed the incident:

# The City of Tshwane has advised Soshanguve residents in Wards 32, 37, and 39 of load rotation in Zone 14A, 14B, and Extensions 19A and 19B. The city spokesperson Selby Bokaba says this will continue until Friday next week. He warned about pressure on transformers, and recent theft of main feeder cables in the affected areas:

Eskom meanwhile says the power system remains stable with ongoing planned maintenance and improved unplanned outage levels. From 1 April to 1 May, unplanned outages dropped to 12-thousand-644 MegaWatts, while two-thousand-850 MegaWatts is set to return before Monday’s evening peak. Eskom spokesperson Daphne Mokoena says the utility reports a 1.6-percent year-on-year improvement in outage performance. She confirmed that Eskom will present its Winter Outlook on Monday:

# Seven people have died in a collision between a tour bus and a truck near Yellowstone National Park. Eight others were injured when a Chevy pickup truck and a van carrying 14 tourists crashed and caught fire on a highway in eastern Idaho. The road was closed for seven hours while emergency teams treated victims and cleared the crash site, about 25 kilometres from Yellowstone’s entrance. Yellowstone is America’s oldest national park and covers nearly five-thousand-600 square kilometres. It draws an average of four-million tourists every year, with the majority between May and September.

# And finally rugby: History will be rewritten when the Springboks launch their 2025 season against the Barbarians at the Cape Town Stadium on Saturday, 28 June. It will be the first time the famous international invitational outfit will be in action on South African soil. It will be the ninth clash between the two sides, and the first since 5 November 2016, when the teams played to a 31-31 draw at Wembley Stadium in London. Since the first clash between the sides in 1952, the Barbarians have won four games and the Springboks three, to add to the draw nine years ago. The Boks’ last victory over the Barbarians was on 10 December 2000 in Cardiff, by 41-31.

Stay tuned for more news………….