--- title: "While you were sleeping: 17 October 2017" description: "Iraqi forces occupy Kirkuk, freak storm kills three in Ireland, and an iceberg could save Cape Town." 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/2017-10-17-while-you-were-sleeping-17-october-2017/" published: "2017-10-17T06:01:38" lang: "en-ZA" word_count: 708 --- # While you were sleeping: 17 October 2017 > Iraqi forces occupy Kirkuk, freak storm kills three in Ireland, and an iceberg could save Cape Town. By John Stupart · Published 17 October 2017, 08:01 SAST ## Content **Tuesday, 17 October 2017** *"What is to be done with the millions of facts that bear witness that men, fully understanding their real interests, have left them in the background and rushed headlong to meet peril and danger?"* **Fyodor Dostoyevsky** ![Image](https://i2.createsend1.com/ei/d/C1/16C/2C2/csimport/849x493q70ThammZumaIC1.051043.jpg) STORY OF THE DAY [Analysis: John Block and Marius Fransman stepped down when charged – why not the same action for President Zuma?](http://email.touchbasepro.com/t/d-l-utjrlkk-l-p/) By MARIANNE THAMM If the ANC’s Integrity Commission had any lingering doubts, Friday’s Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) judgment confirming the reinstatement of 18 charges of 783 counts against President Jacob Zuma should have cleared it all up. Precedents have been set. Former Minister of Communications Dina Pule resigned in 2013 after an investigation by Parliament’s ethics committee; in 2014 the Integrity Commission asked Northern Cape ANC Chair John Block – later sentenced (in 2016) to a 15-year jail term – to resign, and in 2016 Western Cape Chair Marius Fransman was asked to step away pending charges of sexual assault. Will the Integrity Commission bear its fangs when it comes to Zuma? [Iraqi forces reach Kirkuk](http://email.touchbasepro.com/t/d-l-utjrlkk-l-x/) Less than a day after intervening in Kurdish-controlled territory, Iraqi forces have occupied Kirkuk. Iraq's military swept across the region following a disputed independence referendum. Given the resilience of Kurds and the history of Kirkuk, a long, nasty insurgency is certainly not off the table. [Freak storm hits Ireland](http://email.touchbasepro.com/t/d-l-utjrlkk-l-m/) At least three people have died and 360,000 have been left without power in Ireland. An "unprecedented" storm struck the country on Monday as a result of Hurricane Ophelia. The storm, a downgraded version of the hurricane, was the largest ever to reach so far north since 1939. [#CapeWaterGate: iceberg could solve water crisis](http://email.touchbasepro.com/t/d-l-utjrlkk-l-c/) At first glance, the thought of towing an iceberg to Cape Town to provide fresh water seems ridiculous. At second glance, it still seems a bit strange. But a precedent for it exists, and in 2018 the UAE will be taking delivery of its very own iceberg. REBECCA DAVIS peels back the ridiculous and looks at the science. [Florida declares emergency over white supremacist problem](http://email.touchbasepro.com/t/d-l-utjrlkk-l-q/) Florida's governor has declared a state of emergency ahead of a white supremacist event scheduled for Thursday. The event features Richard Spencer, a particularly odious racist responsible for inciting violence in a march in August. A state of emergency declaration will provide Florida with enough security, and tear gas, for each and every white supremacist. — IN NUMBERS 85% The percentage by which dogs are calmer when listening to solo piano music at 50-60bpm during firework shows. FACTS OF THE DAY Today is the**International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.**It starts in Saxonwold. **Zebras** are actually black with white stripes. ![Image](https://i6.createsend1.com/ei/d/C1/16C/2C2/csimport/GleakswN24.190025.jpg) FEATURED ARTICLES ![Image](https://images.www.dailymaverick.co.za/images/resized_images/849x493q70Hennie-TinyRowland.jpg) [Declassified: Apartheid Profits – Tiny Rowland, a very British spy?](http://email.touchbasepro.com/t/d-l-utjrlkk-l-e/) BY OPEN SECRETS ![Image](https://images.www.dailymaverick.co.za/images/resized_images/849x493q70rebecca-iceberg\(1\).jpg) [#CapeWaterGate: Could towing an iceberg to Cape Town help solve future water problems?](http://email.touchbasepro.com/t/d-l-utjrlkk-l-g/) BY REBECCA DAVIS ![Image](https://images.www.dailymaverick.co.za/images/resized_images/849x493q70grootes-disinterestedvoters.jpg) [Analysis: Currently undecided voters could decide SA’s future in 2019 and beyond](http://email.touchbasepro.com/t/d-l-utjrlkk-l-yd/) BY STEPHEN GROOTES ![Image](https://images.www.dailymaverick.co.za/images/resized_images/849x493q70Leitch-SAA.jpg) [Op-Ed: Why does the government hold on to SAA?](http://email.touchbasepro.com/t/d-l-utjrlkk-l-yk/) BY GUY LEITCH ![Image](https://images.www.dailymaverick.co.za/images/resized_images/849x493q70greg-esidimeni\(1\).jpg) [Life Esidimeni: Former MEC Qedani Mahlangu needs to be put on the stand to tell us why](http://email.touchbasepro.com/t/d-l-utjrlkk-l-jl/) BY GREG NICOLSON ![Image](https://images.www.dailymaverick.co.za/images/resized_images/849x493q70amabooka-killingKaroline.jpg) [AmaBookaBooka: Author’s triumphant return (after being killed) – A podcast](http://email.touchbasepro.com/t/d-l-utjrlkk-l-jy/) BY AMABOOKABOOKA ![Image](https://images.www.dailymaverick.co.za/images/resized_images/849x493q70groundup-prasa-MAIN.jpg) [GroundUp: Prasa says it’s on top of security problems](http://email.touchbasepro.com/t/d-l-utjrlkk-l-jt/) BY GROUNDUP ![Image](https://images.www.dailymaverick.co.za/images/resized_images/849x493q70peterfab-quotas.jpg) [South Affrica fails to exploit free trade agreement access to massive EU market](http://email.touchbasepro.com/t/d-l-utjrlkk-l-jd/) BY PETER FABRICIUS OPINIONISTAS ![Image](https://images.www.dailymaverick.co.za/images/resized_images/190x170q70e41a4dfa4a643c00376ac2cc63396bfb.jpg) [Fact-checking claims about prosecuting President Jacob Zuma](http://email.touchbasepro.com/t/d-l-utjrlkk-l-jk/) A column by PIERRE DE VOS ![Image](https://images.www.dailymaverick.co.za/images/resized_images/190x170q70Siya-Khumalo.jpg) [Maritzburg College: How behind the education curve are we?](http://email.touchbasepro.com/t/d-l-utjrlkk-l-tl/) A column by SIYA KHUMALO ![Image](https://images.www.dailymaverick.co.za/images/resized_images/190x170q70Shelagh-Gastrow.jpg) [Philanthropy and Universities: Supporting South Africa’s engine room of new ideas](http://email.touchbasepro.com/t/d-l-utjrlkk-l-ty/) A column by SHELAGH GASTROW ![Image](https://images.www.dailymaverick.co.za/images/resized_images/190x170q70Muhammad-Sheik.jpg) [Can Donald Trump really scrap the Iran Nuclear Deal?](http://email.touchbasepro.com/t/d-l-utjrlkk-l-tt/) A column by MUHAMMAD SHEIK — **Weather** BFN: min: 3° max 18°, cloudy CPT: min: 9° max: 15°, cloudy DBN: min: 13° max: 19°, cloudy EL: min: 11° max: 19°, cloudy JHB: min: 7° max: 23°, sunny KIM: min: 6° max: 20°, sunny NLP: min: 9° max: 26°, cloudy MHK: min: 13° max: 29°, sunny PMB: min: 9° max: 19°, rainy PE: min: 8° max: 20°, cloudy PTA: min: 12° max: 27°, sunny **Financial Data** Oil=$57.79 Gold=$1,299.64 Platinum=$934.33 R/$=13.30 R/€=15.70 R/£=17.65 $/€=0.83 JSE All Share=58,163.56 DJIA=22,934.36 FTSE 100=7,526.97