While you were sleeping: 14 July

Theresa May hauls out her Johnson, top Daesh commander killed, and a third of Rio tickets unsold.

14 Jul 2016

“Too often we judge other groups by their worst examples while judging ourselves by our best intentions."

– George W Bush

Story of the Day

Zimbabwe: Power to the pastor, power to the people as Mawarire walks

The Zimbabwean regime did not expect Pastor Evan Mawarire to be set free on Wednesday night. But unprecedented public pressure forced the magistrate’s hand, with a little help from blundering police. Look away now, Comrade Bob, because Zimbabwe will never be the same again. By SIMON ALLISON.
Read more

While you were sleeping

Johnson is UK's foreign minister

When one thinks of a candidate with the skills of effective communication, good judgement, strategic thinking, cultural awareness and a careful understanding of the legacies of the Empire necassary for leading the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, one immediately thinks of Boris Johnson... Or, at least, this could have been Theresa May's thought when she appointed Johnson last night amid a flurry of cabinet appointments. God Save the Queen. Read more

ISIL commander killed

A top Daesh commander has been killed in Iraq overnight. Omar al-Shishani was killed on Wednesday by Iraqi forces in the town of Sharqat. The United States claimed 'Omar the Chechen' had already been killed in March. At least al-Shishani is now super-double dead this week. Read more

US troops to South Sudan

President Barack Obama has ordered 47 additional troops into South Sudan to protect the US embassy there. In addition, 130 personnel have been placed on standby in Djibouti in case they need to be immediately deployed. Just in time for a cease-fire that appears to be taking hold. Read More

Third of Rio's tickets unsold

Less than a month from the Rio Olympics, and nearly one third of all tickets remain unsold. Fears for the safety of spectators, Zika virus concerns, and a major cloud of negativity towards the event have resulted in poor sales. After Rio mayor, Eduardo Paes, said on CNN that Rio police were doing a "horrible" job, 40,000 tickets were rumoured to have been cancelled. Read more

In Numbers

The maximum years imprisonment one can face in the US for pointing a laser at an aircraft.

Facts of the Day

Today in 1916 saw the start of the Battle of Delville Wood. This action, a part of The Somme, involved a South African brigade, who suffered enormous casualties during the fighting.

Fact of the day: A robot performed the first autonomous surgery in May 2016 without any human help. The machine outperformed human surgeons in every metric but speed.

Weather & Financial Data

BFN: min: 2° max: 19°, sunny
CPT: min: 11° max: 20°, cloudy
DBN: min: 14° max: 24°, sunny
EL: min: 18° max: 26°, cloudy
JHB: min: 1° max: 19°, sunny
KIM: min: 6° max: 19°, cloudy
NLP: min: 4° max: 24°, sunny
PMB: min: 3° max: 20°, sunny
PKN: min: 4° max: 18°, sunny
PE: min: 16° max: 27°, cloudy
PTA: min: 3° max: 19°, sunny

Oil=$46.32

Gold=$1,344.05
Platinum=$1,097.35
R/$=14.48
R/€=16.09
R/£=19.07
$/€=1.11
JSE All Share=52,814.88
DJIA=18,379.72
FTSE 100=6,670.40
Source

Now on Daily Maverick

FEATURED

	Zimbabwe: Power to the pastor, power to the people as Mawarire walks By Simon Allison
	Zuma’s ‘Countdown to Victory’: You can’t be the ANC. You can’t beat the ANC. By Greg Nicolson
	Why Hlaudi and the league of ‘untouchables’ remain bullet proof By Ranjeni Munusamy
	Op-Ed: Time for Specialised Sexual Offences Courts to become a reality By Marianne Thamm
	Ashley Kriel: The struggle of memory against forgetting By Marelise van der Merwe
	Thuli Madonsela, The Next Generation: The list of candidates shrinks to Final Fourteen By Marianne Merten
	Letter to Editor: Cosatu responds to Irvin Jim By Daily Maverick
	Op-Ed: To end HIV epidemic in teenage girls, cycle needs to be disrupted By Françoise Girard
	ICG: South Sudan – De-escalating the latest flare-up By International Crisis Group
	ICG Analysis: Landmark South China Sea ruling could revive negotiations By International Crisis Group
	ICG: Kenya’s Coast – Devolution Disappointed By International Crisis Group
	GroundUp: Corruption allegations against Gideon Sam come back to life By GroundUp
	While you were sleeping: 13 July 2016 By John Stupart