--- title: "While you were sleeping: 17th January 2017" description: "Istanbul nightclub attacker arrested, Uganda deny M23 incursion, and the last man on the moon passes away." type: "NewsArticle" publisher: "Daily Maverick" site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za" section: "South Africa" author: "John Stupart" author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/johnstupart/" canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2017-01-17-while-you-were-sleeping-17th-january-2017/" published: "2017-01-17T05:58:44" lang: "en-ZA" word_count: 712 --- # While you were sleeping: 17th January 2017 > Istanbul nightclub attacker arrested, Uganda deny M23 incursion, and the last man on the moon passes away. By John Stupart · Published 17 January 2017, 07:58 SAST ## Content **Tuesday, 17th January 2017** *“There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies.”* **Martin Luther King Jr.** ![Op-Ed: Independence of Western Sahara is an inalienable right](https://i1.createsend1.com/ei/d/57/07D/3EF/csimport/849x493q70Marianne-SASSATENDER1.050635.jpg) STORY OF THE DAY [SASSA’s deafening silence on April 1 readiness for monthly R10-billion grant handover](http://email.touchbasepro.com/t/d-l-hlujdit-l-h/) By MARIANNE THAMM With only two months to go before the contract with Cash Paymaster Services (CPS), which distributes a monthly R10-billion worth of vital social grants to 17-million South Africans, expires on March 31, the Department of Social Development has not made any public announcement on the South African Social Security Agency’s proposed April 1 takeover. Instead, Minister Bathabile Dlamini’s spokesperson, Lumka Oliphant, has been hogging headlines for an expletive-ridden Facebook post in defence of her minister. Meanwhile, on Friday January 13, SASSA quietly hosted a “request for information” briefing in Pretoria where interested parties were rushed through a presentation. WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING [Istanbul shooter arrested](http://email.touchbasepro.com/t/d-l-hlujdit-l-k/) Turkish authorities have arrested the jihadist who they believe killed 39 people at an Istanbul nightclub on New Year's eve. State media identified the 34-year-old as Abdulgadir Masharipov, and he was labelled a member of an Asian branch of Isis. Masharipov was arrested in Istanbul while with his four-year-old son. [Uganda deny M23 incursion](http://email.touchbasepro.com/t/d-l-hlujdit-l-u/) Ugandan officials have denied that any M23 rebels being hosted in their camps travelled across into the DRC and mounted attacks. The DRC government maintains that 200 rebels have taken over a village in Kivu. There is currently a contingent of South African soldiers in the region acting as part of MONUSCO. Perhaps it's time for a patrol. [Last man on the moon dies](http://email.touchbasepro.com/t/d-l-hlujdit-l-o/) US astronaut Eugene Cernan has died aged 82. Cernan was the final astronaut to set foot on the moon, commanding the Apollo 17 mission in 1972. Nasa and other agencies have issued messages of sympathy, with Cernan's death marking a month since the death of fellow astronaut John Glenn. [Mugabe's death-predicting priest arrested](http://email.touchbasepro.com/t/d-l-hlujdit-l-b/) A Zimbabwean pastor has been arrested for predicting Robert Mugabe's death. Pastor Patrick Mugadza stated his belief that Mugabe would die in October. This being Zimbabwe and thus no place for such clairvoyance, Mugadza was arrested and charged with "insulting people of a certain race or religion". — IN NUMBERS 16,000 The amount, in dollars, spent on an auctioned sword in a Chinese video game. FACT OF THE DAY Today in 1929 **Popeye the Sailor Man** made his debut. Uh hyuk hyuk hyuk! **"Facetiously" and "Abstemiously"**are the only two English words containing all vowels in order. 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