Thursday, 29 March 2018
“A pioneer is not someone who makes her own soap. She is one who takes up her burdens and walks toward the future.”
Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
STORY OF THE DAY
SassaGate: Grants agency’s delays and incompetence enable Grindrod Bank to score R160m
By MARIANNE THAMM.
The South African Social Security Agency’s incompetence will see some 5.4 million social grant beneficiaries who receive their grants using the Sassa card coughing up R10 in bank charges to Grindrod Bank, which will score a windfall of R54-million in April alone. Meanwhile, Net1/CPS has responded that the company cannot be prejudiced because of “shortcomings” in Sassa’s processes with regard to repaying R316-million to Treasury for “additional registrations” conducted in 2013.
WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING
Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai has returned to Pakistan today, for the first time since her attack. Yousafzai was shot in the head by the Taliban due to her tireless advocacy promoting education for girls. Security was tight during her arrival at Islamabad's international airport, with her itinerary remaining a complete secret, aside from a planned meeting with the country's prime minister.
Assange loses communications privileges
WikiLeaks founder and permanent resident at Ecuador's embassy, Julian Assange has had his communication privileges revoked. The embassy made the decision after Assange conducted a tirade criticising Britain's accusations against Russia as the actor behind the 4 March poisoning of a former double agent. Britain's Foreign Office minister labelled Assange a "miserable little worm". Having now resorted to treating Assange like an errant teenager, the minister might not be far off.
Trump payments lawsuit can proceed - judge
A Maryland federal judge has ruled that a lawsuit accusing President Donald Trump of receiving illegal payments can continue. Prosecutors are arguing that massive spending by foreign diplomats and embassies at Trump International's Hotel in Washington DC, payments by foreign entities at Trump Tower and Trump International Tower in New York and other businesses, violate the US Constitutional ban on presidents profiting from their positions in office. The Trump trial, however, is a long way from completion just yet.
Astronomers have somehow discovered the only known galaxy that does not contain any dark matter. Considered present in a quarter of the universe, the discovery does challenge many theories on just how galaxies are formed. A new kind of nano-coated telescope array identified the galaxy, now sexily-named NGC1052-DF2. The star clusters within DF2 appeared to move at the same speed as the galaxy itself, suggesting the absence of "star glue" -
IN NUMBERS
$5,000,000,000
The amount Donald Trump sued an author for because they referred to him as a millionaire rather than a billionaire. Trump lost. He lost the appeal too.
FACTS OF THE DAY
Today in 2014 the first same-sex marriages in England and Wales are held.
Czech deer do not cross into Germany. This behaviour was learned due to their parents avoiding electric fencing along the Cold War border.
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