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While you were sleeping: 30 March

While you were sleeping: 30 March
By John Stupart
30 Mar 2016
0

Argentina raises Falklands issue. Again. Colombian soldier endures 23 days in jungle, and Djokovic advances to quarters in Miami.

Wednesday, 30th March

“No good decision was ever made in a swivel chair.”
– General George S. Patton

Story of the Day
A tangled mess: SA local elections in real jeopardy 
With so much of the political posturing currently on display by the political players, it is sometimes missed that this year’s local government elections are in grave danger. The Tlokwe case, soon to be argued before the Constitutional Court, could reach a conclusion where judges decide it is not possible to hold a free and fair election in South Africa right now. It may not have seemed so just two weeks ago, when the Independent Electoral Commission submitted its papers, but the arguments submitted by the independent candidates who started this whole process are seriously strong. This is a Gordian Knot that will require all the wisdom of our Constitutional Court judges to untangle. By STEPHEN GROOTES.

While you were sleeping
Syrian soldiers continue offensive
Syrian regime forces have pressed their advantage even further, advancing on Al-Qaryatayn. The town, occupied by ISIL since August 2015, looks set to fall as ISIL are dealt successive blows by Syrian troops, backed by Russian air strikes.
Read More
Falkland Islanders reject Argentinian claims
A newly released UN report on Argentina’s continental shelf has bolstered the country’s attempts to claim the Falklands. The islanders, meanwhile, have strongly rejected such statements, and noted that the report made zero assertions about the sovereignty of the British isle. Somewhere far off, the first pipes of ‘Rule Britannia’ can be heard amid the flutter of naval ensigns.
Read More

Serbia to recompensate Holocaust victims
Serbia has just passed an ‘heirless property restitution law’. In doing so, ownerless Jewish properties will be restored to the Association of Jewish Communities. This is one of the first such laws worldwide, and seeks to restore some semblance of justice to the fewer than 1 000 surviving Serbian Jews, after 80% of its 1942 population of 33,000 Jewish residents were killed in World War ll.
Read More

Colombian soldier survives 23-day jungle ordeal
A Colombian soldier separated from his unit on the 5th March has finally been reunited with humanity. Orlando Sanchez had only his rifle, ammunition, canteen and explosives to keep him company. While evading FARC rebels and eating raw turtle, Sanchez kept his sanity by singing rap songs to himself. Because when all else fails, there’s fiddy at your side.
Read More

Djokovic advances to quarterfinals
Novak Djokovic has defeated Dominic Thiem 6-3, 6-4 to go to the ATP Miami Open quarters. Looking a little wobbly, Djokovic defeated Thiem after a bit of a struggle with ongoing double faults. This is his 13th straight victory.
Read More

In Numbers
4.19/km²
The dollar price per km² paid by United States to buy Alaska. This was purchased today in 1867 for a whopping $7.2 million.

Facts of the Day
Today in 1972 saw the beginning of the North Vietnamese Easter Offensive. The aftermath of this battle helped propel peace negotiations in Paris.

Fact of the day: Keanu Reeves used part of his profits from The Matrix to buy all the stuntmen motorbikes.

Weather & Financial Data
BFN: min: 16° max: 29°, cloudy
CPT: min: 17° max: 21°, rainy
DBN: min: 21° max: 36°, sunny
EL: min: 21° max: 29°, cloudy
JHB: min: 11° max: 29°, sunny
KIM: min: 16° max: 33°, sunny
NLP: min: 11° max: 33°, sunny
PMB: min: 12° max 34°, sunny
PKN: min: 13° max: 30°, sunny
PE: min: 18° max: 27°, cloudy
PTA: min: 15° max: 28°, sunny
Oil=$39.24 Gold=$1,241.10 Platinum=$967.75
R/$=15.11 R/€=17.08 R/£=21.79 $/€=1.12
JSE All Share=51,787.20 DJIA=17,633.22 FTSE 100=6,105.90 Source

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FEATURES
 

Photo by GollyGforce - Living My Worst Nightmare, via Flickr A tangled mess: SA local elections in real jeopardy
By Stephen Grootes
Photo: Police Minister Nkosinathi Nhleko, the Hawks head Berning Ntlemeza. (GovernmentZA) State Capture: Nhleko’s secret Cabinet memorandum unlocks mystery of Ntlemeza’s appointment to lead the Hawks
By Glynnis Underhill
Photo: Minister of Police Nathi Nhleko during a media briefing update on Police Minister Nathi Nhleko implicated in Public Protector’s investigation
By Marianne Thamm
Photo: Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa (C) speaks to journalists at a news conference after meeting with leaders of opposition parties at Tuynhuys in Cape Town on Tuesday, 18 November 2014. Picture: Department of Communications (DoC)/SAPA Analysis: The Parliamentary Gupta divide
By Marianne Merten
Photo: Nonhle Mbuthuma and Mzamo Dlamini oppose attempts by the Australian company, Mineral Commodities, to mine titanium at Xolobeni on the Wild Coast. Photo: Kimon de Greef. ‘Bazooka’ assassination: Anti-mining activist knew his life was in danger
By GroundUp
Photo: Sikhosiphi ‘Bazooka’ Rhadebe (John Clarke) Xolobeni: Hawks take over probe into Bazooka’s slaying
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Photo: Professor Ernette du Toit (Photo by South African Bone Marrow Registry) Bone marrow hero: A lifetime devoted to medical advance
By Marelise van der Merwe
Photo: People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola - Labour Party (MPLA) presidential candidate, and incumbent President Jose Eduardo dos Santos speaks to the crowd during a political rally in Luanda, Angola, 29 August 2012. EPA/PAULO NOVAIS ‘This Judgment is a Joke’: Luanda Book Club dissidents convicted
By MAKA ANGOLA
Photo: Russia's President Vladimir Putin holds a news conference at the end of a G8 summit at the Lough Erne golf resort in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland June 18, 2013. REUTERS/Yves Herman International Crisis Group: Russia’s Choice in Syria
By International Crisis Group
Photo: Haroon Lorgat (Doha Stadium Plus Qatar, via Flickr) Lorgat: Review will follow ‘another failed attempt’ after disastrous T20 campaign
By Antoinette Muller
Zimbabwe's 92-year-old President Robert Gabriel Mugabe (L) shakes hands with Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe following their joint press briefing at the latter's official residence in Tokyo, Japan, 28 March 2016. Mugabe arrived in Japan on 27 March for a five-day official working visit. EPA/KIMIMASA MAYAMA/POOL While you were sleeping: 29 March 2016
By John Stupart

OPINIONS

ivor.jpg Progressive Politics: In search of a silver lining in the current crisis
By Ivor Chipkin
Rev-Ndlovu.jpg Vatican Diplomacy: A Listening Post for a South Africa in turmoil
By Rev Lawrence Mduduzi Ndlovu
ian-von-memerty.jpg Behind Five-star Doors
By Ian von Memerty
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