While you were sleeping: Wednesday 17 February 2016

USA considered cyber attacks on Iran, Twitter attention is not the same as votes, and Williams out of the Qatar Open.

17 Feb

Bosnia is a rich man's war. I understand your frustration, but you have a situation here that is better than 10 other places in the world. … I can give you a list."

– Not-so-wise words from the faulty former UN secretary-general, Boutros Boutros-Ghali

Story of the Day

SONA Debate: Planet Zuma, dirty laundry and hard truths thrash the ANC
It was always going to be a bad day at the office for the ANC. The first day of the State of the Nation Address (SONA) debate had opposition leaders Mmusi Maimane and Julius Malema take on President Jacob Zuma directly for the first time since the finance minister debacle and Nkandla backtracking in the Constitutional Court. It was their opportunity to inflict pain on Zuma and his party, and inflict pain they did. Maimane opted for an intergalactic attack while Malema carpet-bombed Zuma’s leadership with personal attacks and startling revelations. The ANC was left haemorrhaging and had little energy to fight back. By RANJENI MUNUSAMY.

While you were sleeping

US planned cyber attack on Iran
If diplomatic efforts leading to the current agreement with Iran had failed, the New York Times reported that a US-launched cyber attack was the next step. Aimed at disabling Iranian air defences, the project was codenamed a very James Bondish 'Nitro Zeus'.
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Senegal's President to complete seven-year mandate
Senegal's President Macky Sall has announced that he will serve seven years of his presidential term, falling back on his earlier promise to step down after his intention of changing the mandate to five. Unrest is not expected, but ruffled tail feathers are definitely on the cards.
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Twitter attention does not equal votes
A study by the Social Science Computer Review has determined that simply getting a lot of Twitter attention does not equate to votes being cast for the candidate. Although based on a German poll in 2013, this could be helpful in the context of the US presidential election.
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Williams out of Qatar Open
Serena Williams will join Maria Sharapova on the sick list for the Qatar Open. Williams has been hit with a bout of flu and has announced that she will focus on recovering from her illness. Qatar Open organisers, meanwhile, are likely tearing their hair out at the withdrawal of two big name players.
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In Numbers

6,376

The current value, in Rands, of a single Bitcoin.

Facts of the Day

Today in 1854 the United Kingdom recognised the independence of the Orange Free State.

Fact of the day: ATM PIN codes traditionally have four digits due to the inventor's wife claiming she could not remember any more numbers than that.

Weather & Financial Data

BFN: min: 20° max: 33°, rainy
CPT: min: 17° max: 29°, sunny
DBN: min: 23° max: 24°, rainy

EL: min: 20° max: 24°, rainy
JHB: min: 18° max: 34°, rainy
KIM: min: 20° max: 34°, rainy
NLP: min: 15° max: 35°, rainy
PMB: min: 17° max: 23°, rainy
PKN: min: 18° max: 34°, cloudy
PE: min: 18° max: 25°, cloudy
PTA: min: 20° max: 34°, cloudy

Oil=$32.70 Gold=$1,215.40 Platinum=$936.07
R/$=15.76 R/€=17.56 R/£=22.55 $/€=1.11
JSE All Share=49,387.10 DJIA=16,044.85 FTSE 100=5,839.56 : Source