While you were sleeping: 22 April 2016

22 Apr 2016

Prince found dead at home, aged 57. Obama defends British EU membership, and Polish experts to restore lion statue in Palmyra.

"Everyone has their own experience. That's why we are here, to go through our experience, to learn, to go down those paths and eventually you may have gone down so many paths and learned so much that you don't have to come back again."

– Prince

Story of the Day

Original Sin: The arms deal and South Africa’s sullied political story
When future generations look back at this epoch, the R46-billion defence acquisition will be what triggered our loss of innocence. It was what changed the political story from a miracle nation that triumphed over oppression to a broken nation overcome with rot. It was where we detoured off the sun-dappled road and staggered down the dark, rutted path from where there seems to be no escape. Yet another government commission of inquiry has left South Africans feeling enraged and robbed of the truth, at a high cost. The military hardware, like the president’s Nkandla residence, stand as monuments of our decline. By RANJENI MUNUSAMY.

While you were sleeping

Prince has passed away
The iconic artist was found dead at his secluded Minnesota house yesterday. Respondents to an emergency call found Prince slumped over in an elevator, and he was pronounced dead at 10:07 am (15:07 GMT).
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Chad re-elects president amid electoral fraud claims
Idriss Déby was announced winner, again, after 26 years in power. Opposition parties have claimed that hundreds of ballot boxes had gone missing, claiming Déby's win was an apparent fraud. African Union observers, however, had already declared the elections free and fair.
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Obama dives head first into Brexit debate
President Barack Obama has noted with interest the ongoing British debate on its European Union membership. Making an appeal through the Daily Telegraph, Obama mentioned the "deep interest" the US has in the Brexit debate, and strongly urged British citizens to remain in the union.
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Experts to return to Palmyra
Two Polish heritage professionals will be heading back to Palmyra to restore its iconic lion statue. The same pair had worked on the monument in 2005. This time, however, dodging mines and unexploded ordnance will also be part of the job.
Read More

In Numbers

25,000

The dollar amount for a bounty placed on Eleanor Roosevelt's head by the Ku Klux Klan.

Facts of the Day

Today is international Mother Earth Day. Hugging trees is encouraged, but not strictly observed.

Fact of the day: 'Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office' is a title by the British government. It can only be given to a cat.

Weather & Financial Data

BFN: min: 12° max: 27°, cloudy
CPT: min: 16° max: 21°, rainy
DBN: min: 21° max: 30°, cloudy
EL: min: 21° max: 31°, cloudy
JHB: min: 16° max: 28°, cloudy
KIM: min: 19° max: 28°, cloudy
NLP: min: 15° max: 31°, cloudy
PMB: min: 13° max: 27°, sunny
PKN: min: 15° max: 29°, cloudy
PE: min: 18° max: 25°, cloudy
PTA: min: 11° max: 28°, cloudy

Oil=$44.78 Gold=$1,249.55 Platinum=$1,025.95
R/$=14.30 R/€=16.15 R/£=20.50 $/€=1.12
JSE All Share=53,323.58 DJIA=17,982.52 FTSE 100=6,381.44: Source

Now on Daily Maverick

FEATURES

	Original Sin: The arms deal and South Africa’s sullied political story By Ranjeni Munusamy
	Arms Deal Report Op-Ed: More prevarication, less truth, no justice By A FEINSTEIN, P HOLDEN AND H VAN VUUREN
	Arms Deal: The military side of the equation By John Stupart
	Seriti Commission findings on Arms Deal: It ain’t over till ConCourt sings By Marianne Thamm
	Seriti Commission findings on Arms Deal: But what about those two shipping containers full of documents? By Marianne Thamm
	Cartoon: Seriti Commission's Operation Clean-up By JERM
	Oakbay Resourceful: Gupta business gets a lifeline, and Cabinet’s helping hand By Greg Nicolson
	Op-Ed: Yes, Zuma must go. But what are the reasons? By Raymond Suttner
	Op-Ed: Language, Knowledge and the Stellenbosch Dilemma By Lloyd Hill
	Letter to the Editor: Appeasing the UCT Taliban By Daily Maverick Staff Reporter
	Rooftop Solar PV will be a game changer By Dirk de Vos
	Op-Ed: A 5-point plan to fix the basic education crisis By Faranaaz Veriava
	Trump: A Lesson for South Africa? By John Matisonn
	Higher Education: Saving the ‘missing’ middle By Marianne Merten
	Sudan: Could the UN’s biggest peacekeeping mission leave Darfur? By Nuba Reports
	Arms Deal: Struggle for accountability continues By A FEINSTEIN, P HOLDEN AND H VAN VUUREN
	Statement by President Jacob Zuma on the release of The Arms Deal Report By President Jacob Zuma
	While you were sleeping: 21 April 2016 By John Stupart