World

South Africa, World

While you were sleeping: 1 December 2017

While you were sleeping: 1 December 2017

Argentina gives up sub crew hunt, Zimbabwe's military creep gets creepier, and scallops have lots of eyes.

TGIF, 1 December 2017

“How many observe Christ’s birthday! How few, His precepts!” 
Benjamin Franklin

 
 

STORY OF THE DAY

amaBhungane & Scorpio #GuptaLeaks: How family hijacked (and then lost) a Lesotho diamond mine

By AMABHUNGANE, MNN CENTRE FOR INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM and SCORPIO

In August 2014 Lesotho Prime Minister Tom Thabane appointed Atul Gupta as an “economic investment envoy”. Thabane said ANC President Jacob Zuma had introduced him to the Gupta family and he had enlisted them “to help scout for investment” for the country. Now new evidence is emerging that the main “investment” the Guptas were touting – apart from in Thabane himself – was their takeover of a Lesotho diamond mine. 

 
 
 

WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING

Argentina calls off submarine hunt

The Argentine navy has ended the search for survivors from the missing submarine. Officials argued that the 44 crew members have been searched for for more than twice the time they would have been expected to survive. Argentina’s naval forces will now rather continue the search for whatever wreckage may be found.

 

Zimbabwean officers now cabinet ministers

President Emmerson Mnangagwa has appointed two senior military officers to his cabinet. Dropping former Mugabe-era individuals, Mnangagwa appointed as foreign affairs minister Sibusiso Moyo, or the ZDF’s face of the coup on state television, and Perence Shiri as land and agriculture minister. The military’s grip on Zimbabwean politics appeared to be well in tune once more.

 

Saudi Arabia intercepts second Yemeni missile

Saudi Arabia has intercepted and destroyed a second ballistic missile launched from Yemen. The missile was launched on Thursday and targeted the southern city of Khamis Mushait. An ongoing mix of Houthi and loyalist insurgents in Yemen has created a hotbed of violent extremism in the country. North Korea’s neighbours, however, should probably take notes on how to bring down ballistic missiles.

 

Scallops have eyes, lots of them

The world’s single most delicious shellfish, scallops, may have a bit more going on than meets the eye(s). Researchers have established that the delicacies have 200 eyes that work pretty much like a telescope. The number and nature of scallops’ telescopic eyes were established using a microscope to peer into the creature’s mosaic of eyeballs. Eyeballs that remain delicious, one must remember.

 

IN NUMBERS

92

The number of Russians who died in WWII for every one American.

 

FACTS OF THE DAY

Today in 1834 slavery is abolished in the Cape Colony.

Humans are the only mammals that develop breasts that are permanently enlarged.

 

 

FEATURED ARTICLES

OPINIONISTAS

Eddie Daniels (1928-2017) – A man of integrity

A column by PAUL TREWHELA

 

The Other News Round-Up: ‘Tis the Season to be Brawly

A column by MARELISE VAN DER MERWE

 
 — 

Weather
BFN: min: 17° max 33°, cloudy
CPT: min: 16° max: 24°,  cloudy
DBN: min: 19° max: 23°, rainy
EL: min: 17° max: 24°, cloudy
JHB: min: 14° max: 26°, rainy
KIM: min: 20° max: 36°, cloudy
MHK: min: 18° max: 33°, cloudy
PMB: min: 16° max: 24°, rainy
PE: min: 14° max: 27°, cloudy
PTA: min: 16° max: 29°, sunny

Financial Data
Oil=$63.81
Gold=$1,280.12
Platinum=$946.08
R/$=13.60
R/€=16.21
R/£=18.43
JSE All Share=59,772.83
DJIA=24,081.81
FTSE 100=7,366.59
BTC=9380

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.