--- title: "While you were sleeping: 2 March 2019" description: "Steel tariff hike could spark US trade war, diabetes reclassified, and McMaster could be out." 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/2018-03-02-while-you-were-sleeping-2-march-2019/" published: "2018-03-02T05:38:47" lang: "en-ZA" word_count: 700 --- # While you were sleeping: 2 March 2019 > Steel tariff hike could spark US trade war, diabetes reclassified, and McMaster could be out. By John Stupart · Published 2 March 2018, 07:38 SAST ## Content **TGIF, 2 March 2018** *“Better do a good deed near at home than go far away to burn incense.”* **Amelia Earhart** ![Image](https://i2.createsend1.com/ei/d/6E/A63/15B/csimport/849x493q70bloom-gigabasgrave1.050623.jpg) STORY OF THE DAY [A Taste for the Absurd: The politics of Gigaba’s return to Home Affairs](http://email.touchbasepro.com/t/d-l-otijiz-l-p/) By KEVIN BLOOM There’s an obvious context to Malusi Gigaba’s reappointment as Minister of Home Affairs: this was the office from where, in January 2016, he facilitated a Gupta-aligned takeover of the Oppenheimer’s seven-star VVIP airport terminal at OR Tambo International. KEVIN BLOOM lays out the intricacies of the case, leading to the point where President Cyril Ramaphosa sets the perfect trap. WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING [Trump to impose major steel tariffs](http://email.touchbasepro.com/t/d-l-otijiz-l-x/) Twenty-five percent import tariffs for steel and 10% for aluminium is the order of the day from the Donald Trump eyrie. From next week, if the president gets his way, foreign nations exporting to the US will face a significant trade hurdle. America currently imports four times as much steel as it exports. This in turn means that the stiff increases could very easily spark a massive global trade war with the Unite States' trade partners. Even Canada is annoyed at this. Not even a single apology was issued during their criticism of the tariff announcement. [Oxfam chairman and ex-president to go on trial](http://email.touchbasepro.com/t/d-l-otijiz-l-m/) Juan Alberto Fuentes, the Guatemalan chairman of charity Oxfam International, and Alvaro Colom, Guatemala's head of state between 2008 and 2012 are to face trial for corruption charges relating to a public bus contract. The trial and allegations come at a time when Oxfam really does not need a fresh scandal. Oxfam did note, however, that Fuentes had been corrupt before he joined the charity, as if that mattered. [Diabetes reclassified in historical study](http://email.touchbasepro.com/t/d-l-otijiz-l-c/) Diabetes has been reclassified by scientists into five different types that set in during adulthood. This landmark research broadens the current two types of the disease, potentially leading to a far more specific treatment for each type. The study likened diabetes to a patient requiring the right blood type for a transfusion, meaning the old classification had been less than exacting in its approach. [Media reports McMaster soon to leave White House](http://email.touchbasepro.com/t/d-l-otijiz-l-q/) NBC has reported that National Security Adviser and three-star general HR McMaster could soon be on his way out of the White House. The White House's spokesperson Raj Shah replied in a non-denial, only fanning the flames of speculation of McMaster's imminent departure. McMaster has bumped into Donald Trump before, mainly for acknowledging that there was "incontrovertible" evidence of Russian interference in the 2016 election. — IN NUMBERS $7,200 The monthly salary of a Kenyan MP. FACTS OF THE DAY Today in 1933 **King Kong opens** at Radio City Hall. The Cult Awareness Network, an anti-cult hotline, is currently owned by the **Church of Scientology**. 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