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While you were sleeping: 7 January 2016

While you were sleeping: 7 January 2016
John Stupart
By John Stupart
7 Jan 2016
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NETFLIX comes to South Africa, North Korea gets its attention, and Holms announces title defence.





“You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, 'I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.' You must do the thing you think you cannot do.” 


















WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING










Put away the proxies and cancel your VPN subscriptions, NETFLIX is live in South Africa. While probably unwelcome news for satellite television providers, the $7.99 a month subscription will be a welcome tonic of affordable entertainment for regular South Africans. A host of movies and series, as well as various sport options, are all on offer. It is unclear whether it will be signal jammer-proof during SONA2016, however.


The United Nations has vowed to take action against North Korea following its nuclear test. North Korean officials confirmed the testing of a hydrogen bomb underground. Security Council bigwigs have called the testing a "clear threat to international security". Whether this would translate into any actual meaningful action remains unclear.


TransCanada is to sue the United States for damages resulting from the cancellation of the Keystone XL pipeline project. The Obama administration opted to cancel the project, causing TransCanada to seek $15 billion in damages. The company has called the decision by the US government “arbitrary and unjustified.”


The launch of the virtual reality headset Oculus Rift has fans bitterly disappointed. The price tag, a cool $599, was a last-minute shock to customers anticipating a cost several hundred dollars cheaper.  With the price set so high, the Oculus Rift may potentially have lost its key marketable trait: affordability. Costing more than a console and requiring a seriously-powerful computer to operate, the headset is now firmly for the one percenters.


UFC women's bantamweight champion Holly Holm has announced her title defence match. This will be scheduled to take place before the much-anticipated Ronda Rousey rematch. Although not yet confirmed, it is widely expected that Holm's opponent will be  former Strikeforce champion Miesha Tate. The Rousey rematch, originally slated for July, may be pushed back.














FINANCIAL INDICATORS









Oil=$34.18 Gold=$1,092.95 Platinum=$877.10
R/$=15.82 R/€=17.05 R/£=23.13 $/€=1.12
JSE All Share=49,082.29 DJIA=16,924.07 FTSE 100=6,073.38: Source












IN NUMBERS








102/148

Temba Bavuma's runs/balls score during the Protea's grueling second test in Newlands.






Today last year two gunmen attacked the premises of French satire magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris. 12 were killed in the attack and another 11 injured.

Democratic Alliance leader Mmusi Maimane launches a new 'controversial' jobs campaign billboard today. Look for the offending sign in Johannesburg.

The ANCYL will be attempting to shut Standard Bank down today. They are calling for Jenny Sparrow's banking counterpart, Chris Hart, to be dismissed.


Fact of the day: Roughly half of Cuba's parliamentarians are women.









Weather: 



Bloemfontein: min: 25° max: 36°, sunny
Cape Town: min: 19° max: 25°, cloudy
Durban: min: 22° max: 27°, rainy

East London: min: 22° max: 26°, rainy
Johannesburg: min: 20° max: 25°, rainy
Kimberley: min: 20° max: 36°, cloudy
Nelspruit: min: 26° max: 37°, sunny
Pietermaritzburg: min: 18° max: 26°, rainy
Polokwane: min: 18° max: 37°, sunny
Port Elizabeth: min: 18° max: 23°, rainy
Pretoria: min: 20° max: 37°, sunny


 













NOW ON DAILY MAVERICK









































Hashim Amla quits as Test captain, AB de Villiers to take over
Hashim Amla resigned from the South African Test captaincy with immediate effect on Wednesday. Amla said that this decision has been one that he has been pondering since the team returned from their horror show in India. AB de Villiers will see the team through the series against England. By ANTOINETTE MULLER.

2015 matric pass rate drops to 70.7%
The higher standard of examination papers for the matriculants of 2015 was one of the factors that played a significant role in the drop of the overall results, the department of education said on Tuesday. By Naledi Shange for News24.












SA vs England, 2nd Test, day four: England survive as second test heads for stalemate
England's openers came through the last half an hour unscathed after South Africa declared on 627 for seven and the second test was heading for a draw on Tuesday. By Mark Gleeson for Reuters.












Ayabonga Cawe: AGOA: What are the real issues?
We seldom see joint press conferences of three Ministers so early in the year. In a unique display of inter-ministerial concern and communication, we saw Trade and Industry, Health and Agriculture Ministers in a joint presser about the poultry trade issue which has become rather topical over the last few months. The importance of the issue goes without stating, with the trade benefits that come with the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), including preferential access to one of the world’s largest markets, the United States, under threat.












Wayne Duvenage: Will SA business leadership finally stand up in 2016?
The last month's exasperation suggested the Zuma wrecking ball had gone too far, as billions of rands were obliterated from SA’s balance sheet. But a few weeks on, oh my, how the tsunami waters have settled.












Onkgopotse JJ Tabane: Dear Minister Pravin Gordhan... Let’s Talk Frankly
You are now, officially, the most powerful politician in South Africa. You will be surprised that all the noise you can make in Davos, or all the poetry you will dish to us in your Budget speech in February, will mean nothing if you do not dispose of the matters in the in-tray of your predecessor, Nhlanhla Nene.












Jason Norwood-Young: Friend a racist
I don’t think it’s possible to hate the racism out of people. It’s like America trying to bomb for peace — a cursory factual examination quickly shows how flawed the thinking is. You can only fight hate with love.










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