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South Africa, World

While you were sleeping: 12 April 2016

While you were sleeping: 12 April 2016

Venezuela clamps down on opposition amnesty, China growls at maritime conservatives, and 6 reds in Oceania game.

“If someone has a gun and is trying to kill you, it would be reasonable to shoot back with your own gun.”
 
– Dalai Lama XIV

Story of the Day

TRAINSPOTTER: #BringBackTheGuptas 
Seriously. Bring them back right now. By RICHARD POPLAK

While you were sleeping

Venezuela’s opposition amnesty cancelled
Venezuela’s high court has struck down an amnesty granted by the president. Aimed at opposition leaders imprisoned by President Nicolás Maduro, the court deemed certain crimes to be apolitical and more reminiscent of organised crime. Maduro’s interference in the entire affair had zero impact, to be certain.
Read More

China grumbles at G7 maritime resolution
China is “strongly dissatisfied” with a Group of Seven resolution calling for restraint in maritime territorial disputes. Given that China is the primary global culprit of unrestrained maritime territorial expansion, this would make sense. Not being invited to the G7 meeting probably helped fuel strong feelings of dissatisfaction too.
Read More

Fujimori in Peru election run-off
Keiko Fujimori faces a run-off against Pedro Pablo Kuczynski for the presidential ticket. Fujimori gained remarkable support during elections on Sunday, but her father’s imprisonment for corruption still lingers over her own political career.
Read More

Six red cards in Oceania Champions League
A game between Samoa’s Kiwi FC and Nadi FA of Fiji saw the referee doling out six red cards. The Oceania Champions League bout was constantly interrupted by fighting between players, who swiftly received red cards, and resulted in a 4-3 victory for the Kiwis. This is no record, however; a fifth division Argentinian match saw 36 red cards doled out by the ref. 
Read More

In Numbers

405,494

 
The number of Reichsmarks Hitler was fined for not paying taxes. In response Hitler made himself tax-exempt.

Facts of the Day

Today is Jacob Zuma’s birthday. Here’s hoping Khulubuse doesn’t eat all the cake.

Fact of the day: Alexey Pajitnov designed the hit game Tetris. Being in the Soviet Union, however, meant that Patjitnov never received a single cent in royalties.


Weather & Financial Data

BFN: min: 14° max: 27°, cloudy
CPT: min: 16° max: 24°, cloudy
DBN: min: 21° max: 33°, cloudy
EL: min: 21° max: 29°, cloudy
JHB: min: 13° max: 28°, sunny
KIM: min: 16° max: 28°, cloudy
NLP: min: 11° max: 30°, sunny
PMB: min: 13° max: 30°, sunny
PKN: min: 12° max: 28°, sunny
PE: min: 18° max: 24°, sunny
PTA: min: 14° max: 28°, sunny
Oil=$42.53 Gold=$1,256.53 Platinum=$987.21
R/$=14.68 R/€=16.75 R/£=20.90 $/€=1.14
JSE All Share=51,428.08 DJIA=17,651.02 FTSE 100=6,200.12: Source

Now on Daily Maverick

FEATURES
bring-back-the-guptas.jpg TRAINSPOTTER: #BringBackTheGuptas 
By Richard Poplak
Photo: Minister Des van Rooyen (GCIS photo) Dubaigate: Des van Rooyen does a disappearing act a day before important press briefing 
By Marianne Thamm
Photo: An image of the deep radio map covering ELAIS-N1 region, with
aligned galaxy jets. The image on the left has white circles around the
aligned galaxies; the image on the right is without the circles. Image
supplied by Prof Russ Taylor, UCT Black Holes ‘NSinc: The SA discovery that’s got astronomers in a spin 
By Marelise van der Merwe
BreytenBreytenbach-letter-to-UCT.jpg Letter to the Editor: Breyten Breytenbach on vanishing UCT artworks and blank minds 
By BREYTEN BREYTENBACH
Photo: Students burn art belonging to UCT. Photo: Ashleigh Furlong /
GroundUp Burning Insight: When ignorance destroys art 
By Tony Jackman
Photo: Striking community members protest on the streets of
Zandspruit, an informal settlement west of Johannesburg, South Africa, 17
March 2016. Community members blocked and barricaded roads surrounding the
settlement, after their illegal electricity connections where removed by
Johannesburg Council workers almost a week ago. EPA/SHIRAAZ MOHAMED. Current of Discontent: An ‘act of madness’ precipitates civil unrest in Zandspruit 
By AIMEE CLARKE
Guptas-reaction-Bheki-MAIN-PHOTO.jpg ‘Definitely suspicious’: South Africans react to the Guptas’ departure 
By BHEKI C. SIMELANE
Photo: President of Sudan, Omar al-Bashir, addresses Parliament in
Khartoum, Sudan, 19 October 2015. According to reports Bashir detailed a
number of measures to improve the Sudanese economy and proposed a
referendum for April 2016 in the Darfur region as part of a strategy to
promote a sustainable peace in the conflict riven area. EPA/MORWAN ALI Sudan: Darfur referendum is another step in Bashir’s rehabilitation 
By Simon Allison
Photo: Tafelberg School (area with trees roughly in the centre of the
photo) in Sea Point has been sold to a private owner. Housing activists
want to stop the transfer from taking place, and rather have the land used
for affordable housing. Photo: City of Cape Town website. GroundUp Report: Activists ask court to stop province selling Sea Point property 
By GroundUp
Photo: Chadian President Idriss Deby waves at the photographers as he
leaves the Elysee Palace after a meeting with French President Francois
Hollande in Paris, France, 14 May 2015. EPA/ETIENNE LAURENT Chad: Idriss Déby protected by international partners for strategic reasons 
By ISS TODAY
Photo: An elderly Syrian man looks around as refugees wait at the
Syrian-Turkish border near Sanliurfa, Turkey, 27 September 2014. EPA/SEDAT
SUNA ICG: Steps towards stabilising Syria’s Northern Border 
By International Crisis Group
Photo: Students of the Jagannath University (JnU) demonstrate and set
fire to a pile of bicycle tyres as they protest against the murder of
fellow student and online activist, 25-year-old law student Nazimuddin
Samad, in the old part of Dhaka, Bangladesh, 07 April 2016. The secular
activist and critic of religious fundamentalism was murdered in Bangladesh
allegedly by Islamist extremists, although the police are still
investigating the motive and have not ruled out any other hypothesis,
several sources said. EPA/MONIRUL ALAM ICG: Political Conflict, Extremism and Criminal Justice in Bangladesh 
By International Crisis Group
Republican presidential candidate, Donald Trump, greets the crowd at a
rally for his campaign on 10 April 2016 in Rochester, New York. The New
York Democratic primary is scheduled for 19 April. 
Brett Carlsen / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP While you were sleeping: 11 April 2016 
By John Stupart

OPINIONS 

IvoVegterBW Panama Papers: Beware of guilt by insinuation 
By Ivo Vegter
ian-von-memerty.jpg Change is inevitable, but does the ANC accept that? 
By Ian von Memerty
rhulani-siweya-for-columnist-profile.jpg Mogoeng Mogoeng paid the black professional price 
By Rhulani Thembi Siweya
paul-hoffman.jpg To which ‘African way’ do you refer, President Zuma? 
By Paul Hoffman
Gallery

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