South Africa

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South Africa

Democrats duke it out in debate

By John Stupart

18 Jan 2016

Democrats in debate of doom, SpaceX botches its landing, again, and tennis world rocked by match-fixing.

“The young need discipline and a full bookcase.”

? Vivienne Westwood

WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING

Guns and healthcare have been the focal point of the latest Democratic debate, still underway. Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton have featured almost totally in the debate, with each candidate sniping at each other in the hopes of clinching a February poll in Iowa. Clinton has criticised Sanders' lax gun control policy and univeral Medicare notions. With Sanders now leading Iowa and New Hampshire polls in some area, the fear of the Clinton campaign is as real as Trump's xenophobia.

Burkina Faso and Mali are to cooperate in the wake of the former's deadly terrorist attacks. With at least 28 killed in al-Qaeda attacks, the two countries have resolved to share intelligence and security patrol responsibilities. Whether this will materialise into any real, constructive counterterrorism plan is unlikely, however. With both countries failing to fight terrorism in their own respective neighbourhoods, sharing the problem will not help.

China is to implement a reserve requirement ratio (RRR) on some banks. Those involved in the offshore Yuan markets will be subject to RRR, which in practice should curtail currency speculation. The currency has devalued sharply in recent weeks, and the RRR announcement may alleviate some fears of the People's Bank of China consideration towards simply devaluing the currency.

SpaceX has successfully launched a climate satellite, but experienced a failed ocean landing of its rocket. Landing at too high a speed resulted in a broken landing leg. This is the third attempt by SpaceX to achieve landing in the water by one of its rockets. Although the successful satellite launch is praiseworthy, the real advantage of this mission lay in the ability to safely land its rocket. Nonetheless, a broken leg is definitely better than a giant fiery explosion.

If you thought tennis was immune from match fixing, think again. Allegations have surfaced from the BBC and Buzzfeed News (which is a thing now) that at least 16 top 50 players have been reported to the Tennis Integrity Unit (TIU) for throwing games, including Wimbledon. It appears as though these players, who remain unnamed at present, have thrust the game into disrepute.

IN NUMBERS

24.95

The number, in millions, of registered voters in South Africa. Of those, just 289,000 of a potential two million are voters between the ages of 18 and 19.

FACTS OF THE DAY

Today in 1886 saw the formal start of hockey (the field kind). The Hockey Association was formed on this day in England.

Fact of the day: Switchblade knives are illegal in Michigan. Illegal for everyone, that is, except one-armed people.

WEATHER

Bloemfontein: min: 18° max: 29°, rainy
Cape Town: min: 19° max: 35°, sunny
Durban: min: 19° max: 29°, cloudy

East London: min: 19° max: 30°, windy
Johannesburg: min: 14° max: 27°, rainy
Kimberley: min: 21° max: 31°, rainy
Nelspruit: min: 15° max: 27°, rainy
Pietermaritzburg: min: 10° max: 29°, cloudy
Polokwane: min: 12° max: 28°, cloudy
Port Elizabeth: min: 19° max: 30°, cloudy
Pretoria: min: 16° max: 28°, rainy

FINANCIAL DATA

Oil=$28.94 Gold=$1,088.88 Platinum=$829.35
R/$=16.78 R/€=18.32 R/£=23.93 $/€=1.09
JSE All Share=46,960.37 DJIA=15,988.08 FTSE 100=5,804.10: Source

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WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING

SA vs ENG, 3rd Test: Blood at the Bullring as South Africa ripped apart by England

South African cricket reached another of its “lowest ebbs since re-admission” as South Africa were ripped apart by England inside three days, losing the third Test by seven wickets and conceding the series 0-2 with a match still to go. That the scorecard says England won by seven wickets hardly does justice to the severity of the demolition job that South Africa ran into over the last three days. By ANTOINETTE MULLER.

Analysis: King Dalindyebo's disregard for customary law is the problem, not his conviction

The recent judgment of the SCA confirming the conviction of King Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo and upholding a sentence of 12 years imprisonment has been strongly criticised by supporters of the king. The most vocal critics have been former President of CONTRALESA, Phatekile Holomisa, and Thami kaPlaatjie, advisor to the Minister of Human Settlements, Lindiwe Sisulu. Both Holomisa and kaPlaatjie claim the judgment inappropriately uses ‘western law’ to judge and condemn the king’s actions. Their claim is that this undermines customary law and does not take it seriously as a system of law on an equal footing with ‘western law’. These arguments overlook one very crucial point, which is that it is the conduct of Dalindyebo himself that undermines customary law. By NOLUNDI LUWAYA.

While you were sleeping: 15 January 2016

Battle of the Republicans gets nasty in debate. Indonesia identifies attack mastermind, and the Oscars nominations decidedly bereft of colour.

'The Revenant' becomes Oscar front-runner; actors of color ignored

LOS ANGELES, Jan 14 (Reuters) - Grueling revenge movie "The Revenant" emerged as the Oscar front-runner on Thursday in nominations that pit big-budget movies against small personal dramas and once again shut actors of color out of the industry's biggest honors.

Behind Islamic State attack on Indonesia, homegrown jihadi intellectual

Seven years ago, Bahrun Naim was quietly running an Internet cafe in the small Indonesian city of Solo.

Trump, Cruz exchange barbs over Cruz's Canadian birth in Republican debate

Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump and his top challenger Ted Cruz clashed sharply on Thursday over the Texas senator having been born in Canada, with the real estate mogul saying Cruz had a question mark over his head that Democrats would exploit.

Football and Society: Exciting young African player signs for the Arsenal

Mohamed Elneny joins a long list of exceptional and some not so exceptional African players in the English Premier League. We will have to wait and see if he can give Arsenal an extra surge towards the Premier League title. By ISMAIL LAGARDIEN.

Obama's final State Of The Union speech over, the 2016 fight resumes

President Barack Obama delivered a rhetorically soaring State Of The Union speech, his final, on Tuesday, but the real action is now on the race for his successor. J. BROOKS SPECTOR sets the scene.

A Winter’s Poll: Municipal Elections 2016

David van Rooyen will not be delivering Budget 2016 this year after being hastily moved out of the Finance Ministry, but he will get to decide when South Africa will hold its fifth local government elections. The Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) has to decide on a date between May and August this year when the country’s most contested poll will take place. The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) has a few matters to iron out before the date can be proclaimed, such as the verification of addresses where voters are registered. But they vow this will be a credible poll. By RANJENI MUNUSAMY.

Drought: Time to call it a national disaster, says DA

On Thursday, the DA called for the drought to be declared a national disaster, just hours after Finance Minister, Pravin Gordhan, stated that drought was an “absolute priority” for the Government. Dam levels are down in all provinces, at 57% of capacity. Food security, healthcare and employment are increasingly under threat, with no end in sight. By MARELISE VAN DER MERWE.

Kenyan civil society: Down, but Not Out

Kenyan non-governmental organisations (NGOs) head into 2016 facing a deeply uncertain future as their government intensifies its effort to crack down on an independent civil society. Between administrative harassment, legislative hurdles and a public campaign to tarnish their reputation, many NGOs are finding it harder and harder to perform their core function of holding the government to account. By SIMON ALLISON for ISS Today.

'Riotous Behaviour': Policing through a law easily abused

The purpose of arrest can only be to ensure an accused’s attendance at court. No other purpose is lawful. It is not up to an arresting officer to determine whether an arrested person should be detained pending criminal trial. That is a decision reserved for the judiciary alone. By ANDREW FAULL and JOSEPH SHAW.

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