Story of the Day
Targeting Treasury, SA’s crown jewel – How predictions in the Project Spider Web report came to pass
By Marianne Thamm
In August 2015, shortly after a secret September 2014 agreement was struck with Russia as a preferred bidder for South Africa’s outrageously costly nuclear deal, a bizarre “intelligence report”, Project Spider Web, surfaced in government circles. Riddled with deliberate red herrings, it sought to smear senior Treasury officials. Nearly three years later, almost all those named in the report are gone.
While You Were Sleeping
Archbishop found guilty of concealing child sex abuse
Australia’s Archbishop Philip Wilson has been convicted of concealing widespread abuse by paedophile priest Kim Fletcher. According to the courts, Wilson wilfully covered up Fletcher’s abuses by failing to report the allegations. Wilson’s defence argued that his diagnosis of Alzheimer’s should have allowed for the case to be dismissed. This despite Wilson’s apparent ability to retain his position in the church.
US rattles sanctions sabre at Iran
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has warned Iran that it would face the “strongest sanctions in history” while warning European firms from attempting to do business with the state. Pompeo’s address was his first in his new position, with warnings of Iranian leaders feeling the “sting” of sanctions, utterly missing the very human cost such a measure will inevitably have on the civilians in-country.
Obamas seal massive Netflix deal
Barack and Michelle Obama have entered into a multi-year contract with Netflix to produce series and movies. The duo have created Higher Ground Productions, which will then produce films and episodic content focused on the people they encountered while in office. If just one of their shows gets higher ratings than The Apprentice, you can expect a serious Twitter backlash from the White House.
$100-million prize pool for eSports game
Epic Games revealed today that it would be putting up a $100-million in prize money for eSports competitions. The money is largely aimed at promoting their latest offering, Fortnite, a Battle-Royale styled game that currently enjoys 45-million players. If you are still shushing your kids from the computer games, perhaps let them squeeze in a few more hours.
In Numbers
4%
The number of people in the world with “outie” belly buttons.
Facts of the Day
Today is Novak Djokovic’s birthday. He is 31.
“Omphaloskepsis” is the meditative art of gazing at one’s navel.
Weather
BFN: min: 4° max: 19°, sunny
CPT: min: 13° max: 16°, cloudy
DBN: min: 15° max: 26°, sunny
EL: min: 14° max: 24°, cloudy
JHB: min: 9° max: 21°, sunny
MHK min: 7° max: 24°, sunny
NLP: min: 13° max: 31°, sunny
PE:min: 10° max: 23°, cloudy
PMB: min: 10° max: 26°, sunny
PTA: min: 11° max: 24°, sunny
Financial Data
Oil=$79.52
Gold=$1,292.84
R/$=12.68
R/€=14.96
R/£=17.04
JSE All Share=57,821.20
DJIA= 25,013.29
BTC$=8 409
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