World

South Africa, World

While you were sleeping: 18 July 2017

While you were sleeping: 18 July 2017

Trumpcare suffers setback, Iran deal retained, and strange signals from distant star.

Tuesday, 18 July 2017

“If all the rich people in the world divided up their money among themselves there wouldn’t be enough to go around.” 
Christina Stead

 
 

Just hours after Themba Godi, chair of Parliament’s Standing Committee on Public accounts lashed out on Monday at shadowy individuals threatening the life of Sassa CEO Thokozani Magwaza, Minister of Social Development Bathabile Dlamini fired the embattled CEO. The shocking move comes as Magwaza was putting finishing touches on a contract with the South African Post Office to replace CPS in March 2018 as the distributor of social grants to 17-million South Africans and worth a whopping R10-billion a month. Dlamini appears to be hell-bent on manufacturing another social grants crisis. 

 
 
 

US health bill dead in the water

Two more Republican senators have jumped party ship, arguing that Donald Trump’s replacement for Obamacare was a “bad policy”. Replacing key Obamacare provisions for coverage of the poor and marginalised, Trump’s health care act would remove such requirements. With senators Mike Lee and Jerry Moran out, the required votes simply do not exist.

 

Trump backs away from Iran election promises

President Trump announced today that an Obama-era agreement with Iran and the lifted sanctions status will remain. For now. The statement was a major step back from Trump’s election promise to completely scrap the Iran nuclear security deal. Conditions of Iranian scale-back of nuclear production were met, according to the White House. It’s almost as if Trump was failing on his election promises like every other politician since humankind first left the water.

 

Strange radio signals detected from star

A star just 11 light years away has emitted some “peculiar signals”. Scientists in Puerto Rico say they detected the signals on the Ross 128 red dwarf. Although speculation over alien life has erupted over the discovery, perhaps it’s not time to break out the tinfoil hats just yet. Scientists from SETI will be using their telescope array to measure and verify the erratic signals on Sunday.

 

South Africa clobbered by Belgium

South African men’s hockey suffered a crushing 9-1 defeat at the hands of Belgium last night. Hoping to secure a last-eight berth at the mini-league match last night in a freezing Johannesburg, South Africa was instead punished for each and every mistake. At one point replacing goalkeepers, it seems that the men’s side will not be emulating the women, who managed a stunning upset victory over high-ranked US earlier last week.

 
 — 

IN NUMBERS

11

The number of worldwide blood alcohol cases above 1%. Five of these are from Poland.

 

FACTS OF THE DAY

Today is Mandela Day. It is also World Kindness Day.

Odds are good that you were not the fastest swimmer. An egg’s outer layer often requires several sperms to wear it out. In all likelihood, you were the result of one of the slower, lazier swimmers in the race.

 

 

FEATURED ARTICLES

Wits Justice Project: Lifers, Riots and Parole

BY RUTH HOPKINS AND NKOSIKHONA KUMALO.

 

Fact sheet: The state of South Africa’s prisons

BY G MAKOU, INA SKOSANA AND RUTH HOPKINS

 

OPINIONISTAS

 — 

Weather
BFN: min: 0° max 17°, cloudy
CPT: min: 8° max: 15°,  cloudy
DBN: min: 11° max: 23°, cloudy
EL: min: 8° max: 21°, cloudy
JHB: min: 4° max: 17°, sunny
KIM: min: 1° max: 19°, sunny
MHK: min: 2° max: 20°, cloudy
PMB: min: 4° max: 26°, sunny
PE: min: 7° max: 22°, sunny
PTA: min: 6° max: 19°, cloudy

Financial Data
Oil=$48.46
Gold=$1,234.75
Platinum=$926.35
R/$=12.95
R/€=14.87
R/£=16.91
$/€=0.87
JSE All Share=53,827.41
DJIA=21,639.04
FTSE 100=7,404.13

Gallery

Please peer review 3 community comments before your comment can be posted

X

This article is free to read.

Sign up for free or sign in to continue reading.

Unlike our competitors, we don’t force you to pay to read the news but we do need your email address to make your experience better.


Nearly there! Create a password to finish signing up with us:

Please enter your password or get a sign in link if you’ve forgotten

Open Sesame! Thanks for signing up.

We would like our readers to start paying for Daily Maverick...

…but we are not going to force you to. Over 10 million users come to us each month for the news. We have not put it behind a paywall because the truth should not be a luxury.

Instead we ask our readers who can afford to contribute, even a small amount each month, to do so.

If you appreciate it and want to see us keep going then please consider contributing whatever you can.

Support Daily Maverick→
Payment options

Become a Maverick Insider

This could have been a paywall

On another site this would have been a paywall. Maverick Insider keeps our content free for all.

Become an Insider

Every seed of hope will one day sprout.

South African citizens throughout the country are standing up for our human rights. Stay informed, connected and inspired by our weekly FREE Maverick Citizen newsletter.