Battle stations in the wake of last-minute SONA delay

[Daily Maverick] FIRST THING with JOHN STUPART Wednesday, 7 February 2018 “As it turns out, Mount Kilimanjaro is not wifi enabled, so I had to spend two weeks in Tanzania talking to the people on my trip.” Nancy Bonds Help support Daily Maverick. Mobile readers [click here]( to use SnapScan, or [click here]( for other options . STORY OF THE DAY [Analysis: Jacob Zuma’s exit, a political hyper-drama]( By MARIANNE MERTEN President Jacob Zuma is under pressure. That it’s not quite going his way emerged strongly when Parliament, in an unprecedented move, postponed the State of the Nation Address with only a day to go. But it’s politics, and nothing is straightforward. And so Wednesday’s urgent special ANC National Executive Committee meeting set to discuss Zuma’s future was cancelled late on Tuesday evening. It’s a political Mexican stand-off. WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING [Possible end days for Zuma's Presidency]( It may seem as if the ANC cannot figure out who and when it wants to give the SONA address, but there are rumblings of Zuma's imminent exit underneath the initial face of current affairs. With SONA and today's NEC postponed, and with Cyril Ramaphosa quite likely discussing the terms of Zuma's departure, South Africans might finally be nearing the end of his Presidency. [Stellar success for SpaceX Falcon Heavy]( The launch of the world's most powerful rocket went off "as well as can be expected". Its 27 engines launched Elon Musk's red Tesla, a mannequin strapped inside, and the complete works of Isaac Asimov towards Mars. Both of the Falcon's side boosters managed a near-perfect synchronised landing back on Earth, with the main booster missing its platform by just 100 metres. Musk called it "probably the most exciting thing I have seen literally ever". [Trump pushes for military parade]( After getting jealous at the French Bastille Day parade, President Donald Trump wants his own display of military might. The idea has been widely panned as an expensive waste of money for a country that neither needs to display its prowess as a fighting force nor holds any historical tradition of it. One Democrat Senator and Vietnam veteran was quoted as saying: "I swore an oath -- in the military and in the Senate -- to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, not to mindlessly cater to the whims of Cadet Bone Spurs and clap when he demands I clap." [US regulators consider tougher cryptocurrency laws]( Concerns over the "deceiving" nature of cryptocurrency markets has sparked a renewed interest by US lawmakers in enforcing stricter regulations. US Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Jay Clayton alleged that the proponents of the currency were not being entirely open about how their exchanges did not offer the same protections as the conventional stock market. The wild and unregulated nature of Bitcoin and friends, however, is precisely part of its allure. — Help support Daily Maverick. Mobile readers [click here]( to use SnapScan, or [click here]( for other options . PICTURE OF THE DAY BY EPA-EFE/CRISTOBAL HERRERA The SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket takes off from Cape Kennedy in Florida, US on 6 February 2018. SpaceX, founded by Elon Musk, launched its Falcon Heavy rocket, the most powerful rocket in the world. As part of its payload the Falcon Heavy was carrying Musk’s cherry red Roadster from Tesla, his electric car company. IN NUMBERS 72% The percentage of South Africans who do not feel that the President is performing. FACTS OF THE DAY Today in 1940 Walt Disney's second film, Pinocchio, is released. Foxes can see the Earth's magnetic fields. Help support Daily Maverick. Mobile readers [click here]( to use SnapScan, or [click here]( for other options . FEATURED ARTICLES [#GuptaLeaks: How Bank of Baroda’s misadventures dragged it into South Africa’s political crisis]( [#GuptaLeaks: How Bank of Baroda’s misadventures dragged it into South Africa’s political crisis]( BY amaBhungane & Scorpio [Reporter’s Notebook: A Whiplash kinda day and other Zuma-related injuries]( [Reporter’s Notebook: A Whiplash kinda day and other Zuma-related injuries]( BY Stephen Grootes [Zuma Presidency: Could this finally be the end?]( [Zuma Presidency: Could this finally be the end?]( BY Carien du Plessis [Parliament: Prasa board’s no-show derails committee meeting]( [Parliament: Prasa board’s no-show derails committee meeting]( BY Suné Payne [SACP warns against Zuma’s last-ditch efforts to stay in power]( [SACP warns against Zuma’s last-ditch efforts to stay in power]( BY Greg Nicolson [People’s Tribunal for Economic Crimes: When ‘power seeps out of the Cabinet and into kitchen cabinets’]( [People’s Tribunal for Economic Crimes: When ‘power seeps out of the Cabinet and into kitchen cabinets’]( BY Marelise van der Merwe [#CapeWaterGate: ‘Unscrupulous water entrepreneurs’ to be flushed out]( [#CapeWaterGate: ‘Unscrupulous water entrepreneurs’ to be flushed out]( BY Suné Payne [Op-Ed: Roy and Heather Bennett – a tribute]( [Op-Ed: Roy and Heather Bennett – a tribute]( BY Stuart Doran [Op-Ed: Five problems with the National Minimum Wage Bill]( [Op-Ed: Five problems with the National Minimum Wage Bill]( BY Gilad Isaacs [Evita's Free Speech: Ep.126 – Evita asks: SONA and yet so far? (Video)]( [Evita's Free Speech: Ep.126 – Evita asks: SONA and yet so far? (Video)]( BY EVITA BEZUIDENHOUT OPINIONISTAS [Would it make any difference if SONA was not just postponed, but cancelled?]( [Would it make any difference if SONA was not just postponed, but cancelled?]( A column by Pierre de Vos [As the Zuma era winds down, let us not forget accountability and justice]( [As the Zuma era winds down, let us not forget accountability and justice]( A column by Andrew Ihsaan Gasnolar [Water, the final frontier: A visitor’s foretaste of Day Zero]( [Water, the final frontier: A visitor’s foretaste of Day Zero]( A column by Oscar van Heerden [How long lives the king? Managing party leadership transitions]( [How long lives the king? Managing party leadership transitions]( A column by Mandla Lionel Isaacs — Weather BFN: min: 16° max 27°, rainy CPT: min: 16° max: 27°, sunny DBN: min: 20° max: 26°, cloudy JHB: min: 14° max: 25°, cloudy KIM: min: 18° max: 31°, rainy MHK: min: 19° max: 31°, rainy NLP: min: 17° max: 30°, cloudy PE: min: 18° max: 30°, cloudy PMB: min: 27° max: 27°, cloudy PTA: min: 18° max: 28°, rainy Financial Data Oil=$66.88 Gold=$1,328.40 Platinum=$989.47 R/$=11.98 R/€=14.85 R/£=16.73 BTC/$=7,228 JSE All Share=56,377.21 DJIA=24,241.13 FTSE 100=7,141.40 [FORWARD THIS EMAIL TO A FRIEND]( Copyright © 2017 Daily Maverick, All rights reserved. You are receiving this mail because you are awesome and on the Daily Maverick First Thing subscriber list. [Preferences]( | [Unsubscribe](