Last night: US-Russia spy exchange, Cuba to free political prisoners, the Italian on the (semifinal) field, Grim Sleeper suspect arrested, geriatric mob boss found guilty, Australia loses tomato crop. Coming up today: xenophobia plans, Lula is in town, Grasslands Declaration, Greek general strike, LeBron James settles on a team.
First Thing is an e-mail we make sure lands in your inbox well before 7am every weekday morning. Signing up is quick, free, and easy, and you can do it right now.
7 July: Bob is coming to the final Gordhan to probe government ticket spending; Amsterdam-Johannesburg flight could cost you €4,000; Spain see off Germany 1-0; Fifa bans Serbia’s Antic for a harsh four matches; Bob Mugabe set to attend Sunday’s final.
As-yet unconfirmed reports from Russia and the US suggest that the two countries are setting up a spy exchange, swapping the 10 deep-cover agents recently arrested in the US for American spies being held in Russia. Igor Sutyagin, a Russian scientist serving a 15-year term for passing information to the CIA, is among those thought to be part of the exchange, and said he could be on a plane to London as early as today. LA Times, BBC
The Catholic Church in Cuba said that country is to release 52 political prisoners and allow them to leave the country under a deal brokered by the church and Spain. A small group could be released today, with the bulk following over coming months. AP, Washington Post
Italian media reported that the man who ran onto the field shortly after the start of the semifinal between Germany and Spain is Mario Ferri, an old friend of stadium security staff. Ferri was wearing a T-shirt bemoaning the absence of Antonio Cassano from the Italian team, and apparently pulled a similar stunt during a game between Italy and the Netherlands in November. World Cup Blog, AP
Los Angeles police arrested a man on suspicion of being the Grim Sleeper serial killer, so called because of the 13 year break between his killings. More details are expected today, including whether the $500,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in the case was claimed. The Grim Sleeper is believed to have killed eight people between 1985 and 1988, and another three between 2001 and 2007. ABC, CNN
John “Sonny” Franzese, the 93-year-old head of the Colombo crime family, was convicted by a New York court of extortion and related conspiracy, and could now be sentenced to 20 years in prison. He famously fell asleep in the dock while his son testified against him, and yesterday told reporters he’s not worried about getting jail time, because “I gotta die someplace.” NY Daily News, Village Voice
Australians are worrying that tomato prices could skyrocket after discovering that four million tomato seedlings had been poisoned in an act of sabotage. Herbicide was seemingly deliberately added to the water at a vast Queensland nursery, also killing two million capsicum seedlings and other plants. The Age, Sydney Morning Herald
The executive committee that was set up to deal with the outbreak of xenophobia two years ago, and was recently re-activated in anticipation of more of the same, plans to talk to the media this afternoon. The plan is to avert the attacks on foreigners that, according to persistent rumour, are due to start next week, but the group will also discuss responses if there is an outbreak of violence.
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Brazilian President and disappointed soccer fan, is in town from today. Even though his team is out of the tournament, he has to soldier on to launch the 2014 version. Brazil and Fifa will be unveiling the logo for that World Cup this evening, and he’s also hanging out with President Jacob Zuma both formally and informally; likewise for the gaggle of ministers in his delegation and their local counterparts.
The government, by hand of minister of water and environmental affairs Buyelwa Sonjica, will sign the Grasslands Declaration. That document set outs targets and objectives around biodiversity in grasslands; it flows from a global push, now a decade or so old, to recognise that though rain forests are way sexier, they aren’t the only important biomes.
Greece is throwing a one-day general strike to protest austerity plans introduced by its bankrupt government, and especially reforms to the pension system. The country has grown pretty used to these (this is the sixth such strike this year) but there will still be plenty of disruption as just about all transport shuts down for at least four hours.
The LeBron James saga will finally come to a close, though not without a one-hour special live broadcast on ESPN. James, rated one of the top basketball players in the world, is due to announce which team he’ll play for in the next season. The frenzy around his decision has kept Americans riveted for weeks.
Economic data: the June business confidence index from the SA Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and May manufacturing data from Statistics SA. The release of May mining production and sales data, also originally due from Stats SA today, has been delayed due to technology trouble.
Editors demand zero tolerance on corruption among SA journalists In the wake of the Cape Argus “embedded journalist” scandal, newspaper editors and media experts say credibility in journalism can only be assured if corrupt journalists are exorcised from the profession, now.
Julius Malema shows he isn’t dead yet, gains a couple of music fans We’ve been eagerly awaiting the reappearance of ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema, to see how the rebellions in two provinces are affecting him. On Wednesday we got the answer: it has helped him shed years and once again become the orator that charmed his way into the job in the first place.
Analysis: RIP outcomes-based education and don’t come back Even before the final death throes of the old regime, it was clear a new political dispensation was on the way. Among others – and perhaps most importantly– there would be a new educational system that would wipe away one of apartheid’s most shameful legacies, Bantu education. Enter outcomes-based education.
Michael Hastings, the next giant name in war reporting? In the last few days, news has emerged that Michael Hastings, the young war correspondent who wrote the Rolling Stone piece that resulted in General Stanley McChrystal’s removal, has signed a major book deal with Little, Brown. If he doesn’t repeat his early mistakes, Hastings could become the next big thing.
Dalai Lama, 75 years of holiness While the World Cup delays local festivities to mark the Dalai Lama’s 75th birthday, his envoy says South Africans should celebrate by studying His Holiness’ teachings on moral and ethical values to build a better and more peaceful world.
Simon Williamson: Coming out against strategic essentialism If gays and lesbians continue to insist on portraying ourselves as separate, then it’s our (un)doing if heterosexuals treat us as different. These days, we’ve won the right to be loud and proud (at least in South Africa), so we should rather channel our energies towards fighting the evils that remain, like corrective rape.
Spanish Armada sinks young German fleet, sails into the World Cup final It was as one-sided a game as a game against Germany could possibly be. Spain dominated every blade of grass of the Moses Mabhida Stadium pitch on Wednesday night, and yet, their victory was by the smallest of margins. The match ended Spain 1, Germany 0, with Spain earning the right to play The Netherlands in the World Cup final.
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
Cookie
Duration
Description
__cfduid
1 month
The cookie is used by cdn services like CloudFlare to identify individual clients behind a shared IP address and apply security settings on a per-client basis. It does not correspond to any user ID in the web application and does not store any personally identifiable information.
_GRECAPTCHA
5 months 27 days
This cookie is set by Google. In addition to certain standard Google cookies, reCAPTCHA sets a necessary cookie (_GRECAPTCHA) when executed for the purpose of providing its risk analysis.
cid
1 year
This is an important cookie in making credit card transaction on the website. It allows the online transaction without storing the credit card information.This service is provided by Stripe.com.
connect.sid
1 month
This cookie is used for authentication and for secure log-in. It registers the log-in information.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional
11 months
The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
elementor
never
This cookie is used by the website's WordPress theme. It allows the website owner to implement or change the website's content in real-time.
JSESSIONID
session
Used by sites written in JSP. General purpose platform session cookies that are used to maintain users' state across page requests.
PHPSESSID
session
This cookie is native to PHP applications. The cookie is used to store and identify a users' unique session ID for the purpose of managing user session on the website. The cookie is a session cookies and is deleted when all the browser windows are closed.
viewed_cookie_policy
11 months
The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Cookie
Duration
Description
__atuvc
1 year 1 month
This cookie is set by Addthis to make sure you see the updated count if you share a page and return to it before our share count cache is updated.
__atuvs
30 minutes
This cookie is set by Addthis to make sure you see the updated count if you share a page and return to it before our share count cache is updated.
__cf_bm
30 minutes
This cookie is set by CloudFlare. The cookie is used to support Cloudflare Bot Management.
__pvi
1 day
This cookie is used for the implementation of the news content from other sites.
bcookie
2 years
This cookie is set by linkedIn. The purpose of the cookie is to enable LinkedIn functionalities on the page.
lidc
1 day
This cookie is set by LinkedIn and used for routing.
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Cookie
Duration
Description
d
3 months
This cookie tracks anonymous information on how visitors use the website.
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Cookie
Duration
Description
__gads
1 year 24 days
This cookie is set by Google and stored under the name dounleclick.com. This cookie is used to track how many times users see a particular advert which helps in measuring the success of the campaign and calculate the revenue generated by the campaign. These cookies can only be read from the domain that it is set on so it will not track any data while browsing through another sites.
_ga
2 years
This cookie is installed by Google Analytics. The cookie is used to calculate visitor, session, campaign data and keep track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookies store information anonymously and assign a randomly generated number to identify unique visitors.
_ga_Y7XD5FHQVG
2 years
This cookie is installed by Google Analytics.
_gat_UA-10686674-1
1 minute
This is a pattern type cookie set by Google Analytics, where the pattern element on the name contains the unique identity number of the account or website it relates to. It appears to be a variation of the _gat cookie which is used to limit the amount of data recorded by Google on high traffic volume websites.
_gid
1 day
This cookie is installed by Google Analytics. The cookie is used to store information of how visitors use a website and helps in creating an analytics report of how the website is doing. The data collected including the number visitors, the source where they have come from, and the pages visted in an anonymous form.
ajs_anonymous_id
never
This cookie is set by Segment.io to check the number of ew and returning visitors to the website.
ajs_user_id
never
The cookie is set by Segment.io and is used to analyze how you use the website
ANON_ID
3 months
This cookie is provided by Tribalfusion. The cookie is used to give a unique number to visitors, and collects data on user behaviour like what page have been visited. This cookie also helps to understand which sale has been generated by as a result of the advertisement served by third party.
jam_heavy_ga_session
5 years
This cookie is installed by Google Analytics.
UserID1
3 months
The cookie sets a unique anonymous ID for a website visitor. This ID is used to continue to identify users across different sessions and track their activities on the website. The data collected is used for analysis.
uvc
1 year 1 month
The cookie is set by addthis.com to determine the usage of Addthis.com service.
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Cookie
Duration
Description
__tbc
2 years
This cookie is used for measuring the efficiency of advertisement by registering data on visitors from multiple website.
_cc_aud
8 months 26 days
The cookie is set by crwdcntrl.net. The purpose of the cookie is to collect statistical information in an anonymous form about the visitors of the website. The data collected include number of visits, average time spent on the website, and the what pages have been loaded. These data are then used to segment audiences based on the geographical location, demographic, and user interest provide relevant content and for advertisers for targeted advertising.
_cc_cc
session
The cookie is set by crwdcntrl.net. The purpose of the cookie is to collect statistical information in an anonymous form about the visitors of the website. The data collected include number of visits, average time spent on the website, and the what pages have been loaded. These data are then used to segment audiences based on the geographical location, demographic, and user interest provide relevant content and for advertisers for targeted advertising.
_cc_dc
8 months 26 days
The cookie is set by crwdcntrl.net. The purpose of the cookie is to collect statistical information in an anonymous form about the visitors of the website. The data collected include number of visits, average time spent on the website, and the what pages have been loaded. These data are then used to segment audiences based on the geographical location, demographic, and user interest provide relevant content and for advertisers for targeted advertising.
_cc_id
8 months 26 days
The cookie is set by crwdcntrl.net. The purpose of the cookie is to collect statistical information in an anonymous form about the visitors of the website. The data collected include number of visits, average time spent on the website, and the what pages have been loaded. These data are then used to segment audiences based on the geographical location, demographic, and user interest provide relevant content and for advertisers for targeted advertising.
_kuid_
5 months 27 days
The cookie is set by Krux Digital under the domain krxd.net. The cookie stores a unique ID to identify a returning user for the purpose of targeted advertising.
_rxuuid
1 year
The main purpose of this cookie is targeting, advertesing and effective marketing. This cookie is used to set a unique ID to the visitors, which allow third party advertisers to target the visitors with relevant advertisement up to 1 year.
ANON_ID_old
3 months
This cookie helps to categorise the users interest and to create profiles in terms of resales of targeted marketing. This cookie is used to collect user information such as what pages have been viewed on the website for creating profiles.
bscookie
2 years
This cookie is a browser ID cookie set by Linked share Buttons and ad tags.
CMID
1 year
The cookie is set by CasaleMedia. The cookie is used to collect information about the usage behavior for targeted advertising.
CMPRO
3 months
This cookie is set by Casalemedia and is used for targeted advertisement purposes.
CMPS
3 months
This cookie is set by Casalemedia and is used for targeted advertisement purposes.
CMST
1 day
The cookie is set by CasaleMedia. The cookie is used to collect information about the usage behavior for targeted advertising.
DSID
1 hour
This cookie is setup by doubleclick.net. This cookie is used by Google to make advertising more engaging to users and are stored under doubleclick.net. It contains an encrypted unique ID.
google_push
5 minutes
This cookie is set by the Bidswitch. This cookie is used to collect statistical data related to the user website visit such as the number of visits, average time spent on the website and what pages have been loaded. This collected information is used to sort out the users based on demographics and geographical locations inorder to serve them with relevant online advertising.
i
1 year
The purpose of the cookie is not known yet.
id
3 months
The main purpose of this cookie is targeting and advertising. It is used to create a profile of the user's interest and to show relevant ads on their site. This Cookie is set by DoubleClick which is owned by Google.
IDE
1 year 24 days
Used by Google DoubleClick and stores information about how the user uses the website and any other advertisement before visiting the website. This is used to present users with ads that are relevant to them according to the user profile.
IDSYNC
1 year
This cookie is used for advertising purposes.
KADUSERCOOKIE
3 months
The cookie is set by pubmatic.com for identifying the visitors' website or device from which they visit PubMatic's partners' website.
KTPCACOOKIE
1 day
This cookie is set by pubmatic.com for the purpose of checking if third-party cookies are enabled on the user's website.
ljt_reader
1 year
This is a Lijit Advertising Platform cookie. The cookie is used for recognizing the browser or device when users return to their site or one of their partner's site.
loc
1 year 1 month
This cookie is set by Addthis. This is a geolocation cookie to understand where the users sharing the information are located.
mc
1 year 1 month
This cookie is associated with Quantserve to track anonymously how a user interact with the website.
mt_mop
1 month
Stores information about how the user uses the website such as what pages have been loaded and any other advertisement before visiting the website for the purpose of targeted advertisements.
personalization_id
2 years
This cookie is set by twitter.com. It is used integrate the sharing features of this social media. It also stores information about how the user uses the website for tracking and targeting.
suid_legacy
1 year
This cookie is used to collect information on user preference and interactioin with the website campaign content. This cookie is used for promoting events and products by the webiste owners on CRM-campaign-platform.
TDCPM
1 year
The cookie is set by CloudFlare service to store a unique ID to identify a returning users device which then is used for targeted advertising.
TDID
1 year
The cookie is set by CloudFlare service to store a unique ID to identify a returning users device which then is used for targeted advertising.
test_cookie
15 minutes
This cookie is set by doubleclick.net. The purpose of the cookie is to determine if the user's browser supports cookies.
tluid
3 months
This cookie is set by the provider AdRoll.This cookie is used to identify the visitor and to serve them with relevant ads by collecting user behaviour from multiple websites.
tuuid
1 year
This cookie is set by .bidswitch.net. The cookies stores a unique ID for the purpose of the determining what adverts the users have seen if you have visited any of the advertisers website. The information is used for determining when and how often users will see a certain banner.
tuuid_lu
1 year
This cookie is set by .bidswitch.net. The cookies stores a unique ID for the purpose of the determining what adverts the users have seen if you have visited any of the advertisers website. The information is used for determining when and how often users will see a certain banner.
uid
5 months 27 days
This cookie is used to measure the number and behavior of the visitors to the website anonymously. The data includes the number of visits, average duration of the visit on the website, pages visited, etc. for the purpose of better understanding user preferences for targeted advertisments.
uuid
1 year 27 days
To optimize ad relevance by collecting visitor data from multiple websites such as what pages have been loaded.
VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE
5 months 27 days
This cookie is set by Youtube. Used to track the information of the embedded YouTube videos on a website.
wfivefivec
1 year 1 month
The domain of this cookie is owned by Dataxu. The main business activity of this cookie is targeting and advertising. This cookie tracks the advertisement report which helps us to improve the marketing activity.
xbc
2 years
This cookie is used for optmizing the advertisement on the website more relevant by analysing the user behaviour and interaction with the website.
YSC
session
This cookies is set by Youtube and is used to track the views of embedded videos.
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
Cookie
Duration
Description
__cflb
23 hours
This cookie is used by Cloudflare for load balancing.
ajs_group_id
never
This cookie is set by Segment.io. The purpose of the cookie is currently not identified.
revengine-browser-token
session
RevEngine Data Tool.
UserMatchHistory
1 month
Linkedin - Used to track visitors on multiple websites, in order to present relevant advertisement based on the visitor's preferences.
vicinity_id
1 year 10 months 24 days 11 hours
Vicinity Advertising.
Please peer review 3 community comments before your comment can be posted
Become an Insider
There are many great benefits to being a Maverick Insider. Removing advertising from your browsing experience is one of them - we don't just block ads, we redesign our pages to look smarter and load faster.
Click here to see other benefits and to sign-up to our reader community supporting quality, independent journalism.