Newsdeck
While you were sleeping: 19th February 2017
Trump knew of Flynn debacle weeks prior, Kim Jong Un's half-brother apparently assassinated, and Harrison Ford in yet another air mishap.
Wednesday, 15th February 2017
“I refuse to live in this world of shame and silent apologies. Life cannot be dictated by the perceptions of others, and I wish the world had made it clear to me that people’s reactions to my sexuality were not my problems, they were theirs.”
Emily Ratajkowski
There has been a lot of noise around the State of the Nation Address (SONA). Much of it centred on the enormous security presence, including soldiers, in the Cape Town city centre, and the parliamentary precinct in particular. Then there was the interruption of President Jacob Zuma’s speech, the violent eviction of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and the walk-out by the Democratic Alliance (DA). But what did Zuma actually say? Judging by the first day’s SONA debate in Parliament, not many people can decipher this. Amid the uproar and heated exchanges, Zuma will wriggle out of committing to anything tangible for another year, while throwing about the obligatory “radical” like the F-word in a rap song.
WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING
Trump knew of Flynn issues weeks before
Continuing with the Michael Flynn saga, reports have emerged that President Donald Trump had been aware of Flynn’s potential issues in terms of his briefing of a Russian ambassador weeks before it became a public issue. Combined with an FBI interview wherein Flynn might well have misled authorities, and the former general could be in for one hell of an investigation.
Kim Jong-Un’s half brother assassinated
The North Korean dictator’s vocal anti-regime half brother has died in a Malaysian hospital following what appears to be a Cold War-styled assassination. Kim Jong-Nam was attacked from behind by two women at an airport, who he claimed sprayed him with some type of chemical. Within minutes he was experiencing seizures, dying before reaching a local hospital.
The White House has distanced itself from encouraging a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine. With Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu due to visit with President Donald Trump today, the White House stated it would support any solution both sides could agree on. With little to no engagement by the White House with Palestinian officials, that solution may well be far off in the distance.
Harrison Ford in taxiway near-miss
Harrison Ford has been involved in yet another aviation mishap. Landing at John Wayne Airport, Ford appeared to have landed on the taxiway and not the runway. Ford narrowly missed a Boeing 737 with over a hundred passengers in the process, remarking on the radio: “Was that airliner meant to be underneath me?” On the plus side, Ford can now boast having navigated his ship to the taxiway in 12 parsecs, a new record.
IN NUMBERS
2.8 Million
The dollar amount owed by Will Smith to the IRS just before he signed on for the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
FACTS OF THE DAY
Today in 2001 the first draft of the human genome is published.
Sylvester Stallone speaks the way he does due to a partial paralysis of the face that occurred during his birth.
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OPINIONISTAS
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A column by VUKANI MDE
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