Daily news update: Measles outbreak, Bathabile disqualified and load shedding crisis

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Daily news update: 9 December

Measle outbreak: New cases rising, SA now has 4 measle outbreaks hotspots

On Thursday, Dr Phaahla briefed the media and confirmed a total of 137 cases have been reported in South Africa.

He said outbreak teams “have been mobilised in line with response guidelines and have implemented the necessary response measures”.

Measle outbreaks have been recorded in four provinces between 11 October and 6 December 2022.

South African health officials reported elevated measles activity in Limpopo and Mpumalanga, with 99 cases reported between 1 September and 30 November.

Moreover, the World Health Organization (WHO) called for global coordinated and collaborative action to prioritise immunisation efforts of all unprotected children.

Bathabile Dlamini disqualified as candidate for all ANC positions

Former ANC Women’s League leader Bathabile Dlamini has been disqualified from running for a position in the African National Congress (ANC) national executive committee (NEC).

“The vetting process as conducted by agency of the Electoral Committee has revealed information which negatively affects your eligibility to stand for nomination as a candidate for all NEC positions during the 55th National Conference,” reads a letter signed by electoral committee chairperson Kgalema Motlanthe.

The letter was shared by Dlamini on social media on Thursday.

The ANC’s controversial step-aside resolution bars members who have either been charged or convicted for a crime in a court of law from contesting for leadership positions

 “The vetting information at our disposal reveals that you have a historical record of being found guilty of a serious crime in a court of law for which the prison sentence had been more than six months,” reads the letter sent to Dlamini.

Load shedding crisis: ‘We have left it for too long and it’s too late’

It’s going to be tough for Santa to find his way around South Africa for the foreseeable future as a multitude of factors saw Eskom bump the country back up to stage 6 load shedding for the eighth time this year.

Load shedding began comparatively benignly enough at 5am yesterday at Stage 2. At 6.05am it went up to stage 4 “due to further breakdowns and delayed returns of generating units to service”.

Then at 11.28am Eskom put the country immediately on stage 6 due to a “high number of breakdowns and Eskom’s requirement to strictly preserve the remaining emergency generation reserves”, according to Eskom spokesperson Sikonathi Mantshantsha.

ALSO READ: November was Eskom’s darkest hour. All 650 of them

Royals brace as ‘Harry & Meghan’ airs on Netflix

The six-part fly-on-the-wall documentary, Harry and Meghan, promises to lift the lid on events that prompted the pair to quit royal life and move to the United States in 2020.

Trailers aired in the run-up to the much-hyped Netflix release suggest it will further deepen the couple’s rift with Harry’s family since their acrimonious departure dubbed “Megxit”.

One British newspaper said the royal family were viewing the series as a “declaration of war” on the back of the content of promotional clips.

In one, Harry, 38, appears to accuse some within the royal household of leaking and planting stories about the couple in the British press, calling it “a dirty game”.

“No one sees what’s going on behind closed doors,” the prince says. “We know the full truth,” he adds in another clip.

White warns ‘naive’ SA teams not to underestimate Champions Cup

Rugby World Cup-winning former Springboks coach Jake White has compared the Champions Cup to Test matches, as South African clubs debut in the competition on Saturday. 

“The Champions Cup is the equivalent of the Champions League in football — competing in it is like playing a Test every Saturday,” he told AFP.

His Bulls team face Lyon and Exeter this month, the Stormers meet Clermont and London Irish, while the Sharks play Harlequins and Bordeaux-Begles.