--- title: "Trump’s dangerous precedent, SA’s flawed NDPP process and a dash of lychees" description: "Trump tears up international law. The NDPP appointment redeems a flawed process. And sweet and sour pork with lychees brings the flavour. All in the weekly wrap." type: "NewsArticle" publisher: "Daily Maverick" site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za" section: "THE WEEKEND WRAP" author: "Daily Maverick" author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/dailymaverick/" canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-01-10-trumps-dangerous-precedent-sas-flawed-ndpp-process-and-a-dash-of-lychees/" published: "2026-01-10T08:00:00" updated: "2026-01-09T14:29:31" lang: "en-ZA" word_count: 634 --- # Trump’s dangerous precedent, SA’s flawed NDPP process and a dash of lychees > Trump tears up international law. The NDPP appointment redeems a flawed process. And sweet and sour pork with lychees brings the flavour. All in the weekly wrap. By Daily Maverick · Published 10 January 2026, 10:00 SAST · Updated 9 January 2026, 16:29 SAST ## Key points - US President Donald Trump has disregarded international law in a way that will embolden countries like China and Russia to do the same. - The NDPP appointment was a flawed process that requires scrutiny. - Demand for fossil fuel climbed for the third year on the trot in 2025. ## Content ## Trump’s shredding of international law sets a dangerous precedent ![Illustrative Image: US President Donald Trump (Nicole Combeau / EPA) | World (Image: Istock) | (By Daniella Lee Ming Yesca)](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/v9TEUkLgQd9RD0FWXAYd3FxlhM4=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/attachments/2986/Peterfab-unravel_429380_969357.jpg) *Illustrative Image: US President Donald Trump (Nicole Combeau / EPA) | World (Image: Istock) | (By Daniella Lee Ming Yesca)* ***By Peter Fabricius.*** Donald Trump’s attack on Venezuela will embolden Russia and China, experts believe. [Read more.](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-01-07-trumps-shredding-of-international-law-sets-a-dangerous-precedent/) ## NDPP appointment is a good outcome to a deeply flawed process ![ThammNPA](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/zPzfXsRnWiUOHn18PwOYpEg4rh0=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/attachments/2986/00002707291_904068_540315.jpg) *Special Investigating Unit head Andy Mothibi takes over as National Director of Public Prosecutions on 1 February. (Photo: Gallo Images / City Press / Tebogo Letsie)* ***By Rebecca Davis.***The appointment of the SIU head Andy Mothibi as the next NPA boss is a solid one — but we still need to question the process. [Read more.](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-01-07-ndpp-appointment-is-a-good-outcome-to-a-deeply-flawed-process/) ## Making sense of the maths behind the Renergen and Curro JSE exit ![bm jse enforcement](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/9clvktOURcmDT-eAOdKsnBSWyd0=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/attachments/2986/GettyImages-2201806902_629137_339258.jpg) *The Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) Ltd. in Johannesburg. (Photo: Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg via Getty Images)* ***By Lindsey Schutters.*** If you blinked this week, or just took a break from a barnstorming start to the news year, you might have missed two of the more fascinating vanishing acts on the JSE. [Read more.](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-01-07-analysis-making-sense-of-the-maths-behind-the-renergen-and-curro-jse-exit/) ## The Donroe Times: Redi Tlhabi and Tony Karon on America’s return to gunboat diplomacy ![The Readiness Report with Redi Tlhabi and Tony Karon (Illustrative image: Daily Maverick)](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/sJXJCWR5aHmerFC3CgyespXfegI=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/attachments/2986/ReadinessReport-EP28_738995_208215.jpg) *The Readiness Report with Redi Tlhabi and Tony Karon (Illustrative image: Daily Maverick)* ***By Redi Tlhabi.*** South Africa has established itself internationally as a staunch friend of the Palestinian people. So why is the Department of Home Affairs scrapping its visa exemption for Palestinians? [Read more.](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-01-07-the-donroe-times-redi-tlhabi-and-tony-katony-karon-on-americas-return-to-gunboat/) ## The major news you missed while on the beach over the holidays ![Ousted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. (Photo: Gaby Oraa / Bloomberg via Getty Images)](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/ccaFvqcE-iNg-HaluM6_cDMWEVU=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/attachments/2986/GettyImages-2149446407-1_222887.jpg) *Ousted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. (Photo: Gaby Oraa / Bloomberg via Getty Images)* ***By Rebecca Davis.*** While you were applying sunscreen and insisting that this year you would definitely read a book, the world carried on with its usual commitment to chaos. Here’s the most important stuff you may have snoozed through. [Read more.](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-01-05-the-major-news-you-missed-while-on-the-beach-over-the-holidays/) ## Coal demand hit record high in 2025, confounding its obituary writers ![BM-Ed-CoalDemand](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/rgch_C7pWLSR6HTOvACSvgSgWmY=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/attachments/2986/china-deal-2-the-Medupi-power-station-source-Eskom_277456.jpg) *BM-Ed-CoalDemand* ***By Ed Stoddard.*** Forecasting fossil fuel demand in this age of unprecedented geopolitical and economic uncertainty coats crystal balls with a layer of coal dust, and in the short term projections could be raised as financial taps to the sector reopen. [Read more.](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-01-04-coal-demand-hit-record-high-in-2025-confounding-its-obituary-writers/) ## Meet the koesister queen of Fietas, who blends Cape Malay tradition with fierce activism ![Image](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/g658g1dAxNbkIDSXawcpMCGMtdY=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/attachments/2986/OCN_Yola_HM_03_354165_397439.jpg) ***By Heather Mason.*** Yola Minnaar uses the money she earns from selling her famed koesisters to uplift her community. [Read more.](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-01-07-meet-the-koesister-queen-of-fietas-who-b-blends-cape-malay-tradition-with-fierce/) ## Jason Smith has quickly become one of the biggest hitters in SA ![Jason Smith’s seven-ball 22 set MI Cape Town up for their first victory in this season’s SA20. (Photo: Shaun Roy / Sportzpics for SA20)](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/o7WMHhE0ncmg_Hx8eAwIFQU_ATk=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/attachments/2986/ROY11251_304226_530490.jpg) *Jason Smith’s seven-ball 22 set MI Cape Town up for their first victory in this season’s SA20. (Photo: Shaun Roy / Sportzpics for SA20)* ***By Keanan Hemmonsbey***. Jason Smith’s call-up to the Proteas T20 World Cup squad has raised eyebrows, but his power-hitting ability could calm those doubts. [Read more.](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-01-07-jason-smith-has-quickly-become-one-of-the-biggesthitters-in-sa/) ## Why the latest tennis ‘Battle of the Sexes’ felt pointless — and politically loaded ![Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus (left) and Nick Kyrgios of Australia embrace at the net after the ‘Battle of the Sexes’ exhibition match in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on 28 December 2025. (EPA / Christopher Pike / Pool)](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/kREI7dOq_AqALEhKyVBkekdrd9g=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/attachments/2986/13608450_359694_895708.jpg) *Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus (left) and Nick Kyrgios of Australia embrace at the net after the ‘Battle of the Sexes’ exhibition match in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on 28 December 2025. (EPA / Christopher Pike / Pool)* ***By Rebecca Davis.*** The Battle of the Sexes exhibition tennis match between Aryna Sabalenka and Nick Kyrgios was unserious, un-fun, and will be weaponised for political purposes. [Read more.](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-12-29-why-the-latest-tennis-battle-of-the-sexes-felt-pointless-and-politically-loaded/) ## Three meditations on the death of a young South African in Britain ![A Union flag flies near Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament in London](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/i4pjpJ_fItq62WWtzZRLPdWpBt4=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/7eb9574dd0d3b5a90f1bffef4b361426.jpg) *A Union flag flies near Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament in London* ***By Jon Cayzer.***If Ali were here today, he would tell you, dear reader, that we are in the twilight – the time of day that older South African Indians call “the hour of cow dust”. [Read more.](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/2026-01-08-three-meditations-on-the-death-of-a-young-south-african-in-britain/) ## What’s cooking? Sweet and sour pork with lychees ![Image](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/XyaomfcBMqt0AhCsvZjNHXLcfvU=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/attachments/2986/sweettsour1_598293.jpg) **By Tony Jackman.** The Foodie’s Wife, who is not easily impressed, pronounced this ‘brilliant’. If that isn’t a recommendation, I don’t know what is. [Read more.](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-01-08-whats-cooking-today-sweet-and-sour-pork-with-lychees/)