Noose tightens for Gupta fugitives on the run

[Daily Maverick] FIRST THING with JOHN STUPART Monday, 19 February 2018 "Each Javelin round costs $80,000, and the idea that it is fired by a guy who does not make that in a year, at a guy who does not make that in a lifetime is outrageous." Sebastian Junger mailto:events@dailymaverick.co.za?subject=RSVP Finance minister Malusi Gigaba warns that South Africans would feel the pain of a tough budget this year. Do you wonder about the R50 billion deficit, or where another R40 billion for free education will come from. How much further will your monthly budget need to stretch with the 2% VAT increase? Will there be an increase in income tax or company tax? What does credit downgrade mean for you and me? Join Daily Maverick and 10X Investments as we break the 2018 Gigabyte Budget down to kilobytes. Date: 22 February, from 5PM. The President Hotel, 4 Alexander Rd, Bantry Bay, Cape Town Email events@dailymaverick.co.za to register your attendance. STORY OF THE DAY [Scorpio: Gupta Inc – crushed and on the run]( By RICHARD POPLAK By their own admission, the wage bill across the various Gupta companies stood at more than R160-million in late 2017. With big brother Ajay Gupta now a fugitive from justice in South Africa, the empire isn’t short of cash – it’s just having a mother of a cash-flow problem. By JESSICA BEZUIDENHOUT for SCORPIO. WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING [Florida students to march on Washington]( Survivors of a mass shooting at a Florida school will be marching on Washington. They want their horrific ordeal to be the "tipping point" for gun control reform. As platitudes issued forth over the weekend from the Trump Administration, the students' "March for Our Lives" aims to convey their dissatisfaction with what could accurately be described as American state gun capture. [Hunt for Zuma's allies widens]( Police Minister Fikile Mbalula has indicated that Ajay Gupta and four other associates of ex-President Jacob Zuma were being followed up on by Interpol. The group are currently fleeing arrest in South Africa and are thought to be in China, India or Dubai. In all, there are 13 people facing charges relating to the pillaging of public funds. Considering it's less than a week after Zuma's departure, expect this rogue's gallery to expand. [Russian in doping case at Pyeongchang]( A Russian curler has proved positive for doping in their initial testing. Further tests will now be conducted, but if verified it could throw fresh fuel on the doping fire. Just why on earth a curling athlete would need to take performance-enhancing drugs in the first place is beyond initial comprehension. [Anderson clinches New York Open]( South African Kevin Anderson has secured his fourth title with a three-set victory over Sam Querry at the New York Open on Sunday. Anderson held his wits long enough to win 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7/1). Having lost 11 finals, for him to finally win at New York meant "a lot" according to the not-so-wordy Anderson. — PICTURE OF THE DAY BY EPA-EFE/ETIENNE LAURENT A view of a mural by Italian street art artist Andrea Ravo Mattoni of a famous painting, Orphan Girl at the Cemetery by French artist Eugene Delacroix at Le Mur in Paris, France, 17 February 2018. IN NUMBERS 46% The percentage of BMW owned by the step-grandchildren of Joseph Goebbels. FACTS OF THE DAY Today in 1945 roughly 30,000 Marines land in what was the start of the battle for Iwo Jima. Lobsters in the 1800s were considered a peasant food, and servants had clauses written up restricting how often they would be fed them for dinner. mailto:events@dailymaverick.co.za?subject=RSVP Finance minister Malusi Gigaba warns that South Africans would feel the pain of a tough budget this year. Do you wonder about the R50 billion deficit, or where another R40 billion for free education will come from. How much further will your monthly budget need to stretch with the 2% VAT increase? Will there be an increase in income tax or company tax? What does credit downgrade mean for you and me? Join Daily Maverick and 10X Investments as we break the 2018 Gigabyte Budget down to kilobytes. Date: 22 February, from 5PM. The President Hotel, 4 Alexander Rd, Bantry Bay, Cape Town Email events@dailymaverick.co.za to register your attendance. 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