News 18:00

BULLETIN 12 February 6 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The DA wins the Constitutional Court case to expose the ANC’s cadre deployment secrets
# Daily rotation between stages 3 and stage 4 load-shedding until further notice 
# And Cricket: A midnight start in South Africa for the second Test against the Black Caps

# The DA has expressed satisfaction with the Constitutional Court’s ruling in their favour regarding the disclosure of the ANC’s cadre deployment records. The court has ordered the ANC to make public its complete cadre deployment records including meeting minutes, CVs, email threads, and WhatsApps dating back to 1 January 2013. The DA’s national spokesperson on Public Service and Administration, Leon Schreiber, says the ANC has five working days to hand over all relevant documents:

# Eskom has announced a daily rotation between stages three and four load-shedding until further notice. This pattern aims to address ongoing challenges and restore stability to the power grid. The utility has restored generating units, allowing for a temporary reprieve with stage three load-shedding from 5 AM to 4 PM followed by stage four each day. Eskom spokesperson Daphne Mokwena urges the public to actively contribute to electricity conservation during these challenging times:

# A FlySafair flight from Cape Town to Gauteng was re-routed to Bloemfontein this morning after a passenger became ill. The plane departed for the Lanseria Airport early this morning with 184 passengers on board. Spokesperson Kirby Gordon says a man became ill and the crew realised he would need specialised care. There were no doctors on board, so the pilots asked permission to land in the Free State capital shortly before nine. The man was transported to hospital and the flight resumed about an hour later.  

# US Defense secretary Lloyd Austin is said to be in critical condition in a Maryland hospital with an emergency bladder issue. This follows after he was criticised for not disclosing his prostate cancer diagnosis and hospital stays in December and last month. BBC News reports 70-year-old Austin transferred his functions and duties to his deputy, Kahtleen Hicks, before he was taken to hospital. He apologised to president Joe Biden earlier for not handling the news of his cancer diagnosis correctly.

# Cricket: Local supporters will have a long day at the office tomorrow if they want to watch the start of the second Test between South Africa and New Zealand. The match starts in Hamilton at midnight tonight, South African time. The inexperienced Proteas were totally outplayed in the first Test in Mount Maunganui when the Black Caps beat them by 281 runs. Meanwhile it is expected that debutant William O’Rourke rather than South African-born Neil Wagner will be included as fourth pace bowler in New Zealand’s side.

Stay tuned for more news………….