Newsdeck, South Africa
While you were sleeping: 16 November 2016
Trump seeks to dismantle Dodd-Franks Act, Mars One unveils its space suit, and Penis Museum surges in Iceland.
Wednesday, 16th November
“If you owe the bank $100 dollars, that’s your problem; if you owe the bank $100 million, that’s the bank’s problem.”
Paul Getty
STORY OF THE DAY
House of Cards: Abrahams and Ntlemeza stir up a hornet’s nest – and Zuma might suffer
By MARIANNE THAMM
Another day, another twist in the endless and hugely costly SARS “rogue unit” saga that has not only diverted the resources of the country’s National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (the Hawks), but has damaged the country’s reputation and financial markets and undermined the faith of citizens in law enforcement agencies. And now, the public posturing between the two unexpected opponents, NPA boss Shaun Abrahams and Hawks acting head, Lieutenant-General Mthandazo Ntlemeza, in a series of acrimonious letters with regard to the charging of Pravin Gordhan and others has stirred up a veritable hornet’s nest. The sting in the tail? The possible reinstatement of those pesky 783 charges. By MARIANNE THAMM.
Trump to dismantle major financial legislation
US President-elect Donald Trump has announced his intention of dismantling the Dodd-Franks Act. Crucial in regulating banks following the financial crisis, the Act also has critical provisions for preventing the trade in conflict minerals. Trump, it seems, is proving to be the stereotypical demagogue.
Infighting and disarray at Trump Tower
The transition team at Trump Tower appeared to be in disarray this week. Two key aides quit their posts on Tuesday, leading many to believe that appointments being made by Trump are not generally accepted within his camp. Rudi Giuliani has been flagged as a major contender for secretary of state, while Ted Cruz was spotted shuffling into Trump Tower, swathed in contradiction and hypocrisy.
Dutch Mars-bound start-up Mars One have unveiled their intended space suit design. Included in a 40-page document, the suit. The suit is made up of interchangeable parts that can mostly be 3D printed on Mars. Looking like something out of the ’60s, one hopes the bleached white look will change, given the prevalence of fine red dust, well, everywhere on Mars.
Iceland opens world’s largest penis museum
Clearly bereft of other ideas for tourism, Iceland has seen a resurgence in attendance at the world’s largest penis museum. Ranging in membership from humans to elves, Reykjavik’s latest tourist fad sees 12,000 visitors a year, and numbers are growing larger with each new day. Given the way 2016 is going, glorifying giant dicks certainly appears to be the way forward.
IN NUMBERS
61,318,162
The current number of votes Hillary Clinton won. Donald Trump secured 60,541,308 votes. The final tally will be announced at the end of the month.
FACT OF THE DAY
Today is International Day
Game of Thrones author George RR Martin uses WordStar 4.0, a word processor from the days of DOS, to write all of his books.
FEATURED ARTICLES
Cricketastrophe! How the Australian front pages covered the Aussies’ humiliation
BY ANTOINETTE MULLER
OPINIONISTAS
An Old Boy sets out how the law applies to religious observance at his childhood school
A column by PIERRE DE VOS
Weather
BFN: min: 17° max: 19°, PM rain
CPT: min: 15° max: 24°, cloudy
DBN: min: 18° max: 22°, cloudy
EL: min: 18° max: 30°, windy
JHB: min: 143° max: 27°, sunny
KIM: min: 20° max: 33°, PM rain
NLP: min: 12° max: 30°, cloudy
PMB: min: 12° max: 34°, cloudy
PKN: min: 14° max: 26°, cloudy
PE: min: 15° max: 25°, cloudy
PTA: min: 14° max: 28°, PM rain
Financial Data
Oil=$46.40
Gold=$1,224.47
Platinum=$934.35
R/$=14.18
R/€=15.22
R/£=17.63
$/€=1.07
JSE All Share=49,430.21
DJIA=18,836.36
FTSE 100=6,792.74